For the prompt: "Is that what you call an apology?"
"I'm coming for your job, Russell." She leaned in the open doorway of his office with her arms crossed.
They were two days back from UNGA and there had been an uncharacteristic lack of communication between Russell's office and theirs, which Nadine took to mean that he was still sulking.
Maybe he wasn't, but his silence certainly meant something, and whatever it was she planned to put it to bed today. Nadine was officially on an unofficial clean-up campaign, and anyone standing in her way was going to be fair game for evisceration. Starting with Russell Jackson.
He barely looked up as he scoffed. "Is that what your little performance was about in New York? A job audition? Showing off? Proving to Elizabeth that you have her back?"
"I don't have to put on a show for her to know that I have her back. No; that was all for your benefit."
"Lucky me," he said dryly.
She pushed off the doorframe and closed the door. That caused him to glance up. Nadine walked in further and then, instead of sitting in front of his desk, rounded it and leaned back against it.
Russell frowned. "Get your ass off my desk."
She ignored him. "You were being a grade-A prick and you know it," she said conversationally. "You deserved it."
He jabbed at her hip with a manila folder. "Ass. Off my desk. Right now."
"Soon it's going to be my desk," she pointed out.
"Yeah, well, it's not yours yet. Last I checked, I still have two years behind it before you can push me out, so if you don't mind..." He looked at her expectantly.
Nadine relented. She sat in the chair in front of him and leaned back, making comfortable. Really, she was just here to push his buttons a little, and maybe even wheedle some contrition out of him before she moved on to her next meeting.
But she wouldn't hold her breath on the contrition. She wasn't delusional.
When Russell saw that she was making no move to leave, he sighed and set down his pen. "Did you come here just to antagonize me?"
"I have a meeting on the Hill later. Since I was out of the office anyway, I thought I'd stop by."
"And Adele just... let you in?"
"Maggie called ahead for me. And anyway, Adele likes me."
"She's supposed to like me," he muttered. And then he gestured toward the door. "This was very nice and all, but I have work to do, Nadine."
"What I came here to tell you," she said, speaking over him, "is that I don't appreciate the way you spoke to the Secretary."
"Really," he said dryly. "You walked all the way over here just to tell me that."
"And to remind you that you have yet to apologize."
"I wouldn't hold my breath," he said. "And anyway, I think she can handle it."
Nadine scoffed. "Is that what you call an apology?"
He narrowed his eyes. "Let's get one thing straight," he said, leaning in. "I don't take suggestions from you. I don't defer to you, and I sure as hell don't give a damn about what you think I ought to do."
"Russell, you're lucky it's me here saying it and not the Secretary demanding it."
"If she's that upset, then she can very well come tell me that herself. She doesn't have to dispatch you."
"She isn't upset about it and she didn't dispatch me. I am and I did. And even if she were, it would still be beneath her dignity to confront you over your poor behavior."
"But it isn't beneath yours?"
"Oh, I think we both know that I'm willing to do worse over less."
"You don't think you're being a touch dramatic? She didn't even blink! Just let it go."
"That's not in my nature," Nadine said. "But just think of this as an exercise in humility."
"Humility," he sneered.
"Yes. An unfamiliar concept for you, perhaps, but never too late to learn." Her smile was saccharine-sweet and just as false. Apologize or I'll make you, it threatened.
"Your suggestion has been noted."
Nadine's smile dropped just as fast as she'd put it on. "Let me be very clear about where things stand right now, Russell. You don't get to take shots at her anymore. I'm no longer allowing it. Not now, and certainly not in any foreseeable future I'm in."
He wasn't afraid of her. But he knew her well enough to understand that she never made empty threats. That she never bluffed when it mattered. He knew when it was against his best interest to challenge her. So, "Is that right," was all he said.
"Hunting season on the Secretary is over," Nadine told him sharply.
He stared at her for a moment. "Fine," he said finally, "but you should be telling Morejon that. Not me. I'm not the one who threatened Elizabeth's legacy."
Nadine smiled again. She stood up and smoothed down her skirt. "He's my next visit."