The war's over on 'The Rachel Zoe Project'

Rachel Zoe might be the in-demand celebrity stylist who made famous her own brand of bohemian chic several years ago among such partygoing celebutantes as Nicole Richie, Lindsay Lohan and Mischa Barton. But it was her two warring assistants, Brad Goreski and Taylor Jacobson, who found themselves at the center of the action during the first season of Bravo's buzzed-about reality series "The Rachel Zoe Project."

Goreski, 32, a former Vogue magazine staffer with a penchant for bow ties, became the frequent target of Jacobson's fiery temper, leading to any number of emotional meltdowns that quickly relegated Zoe's eye for wearable haute couture to the background.

By the season finale, during which Goreski committed an Oscars-day boo-boo that sent Zoe's team into a tizzy, Jacobson, 27, gave her boss an ultimatum: "It's Brad or me." Separately, a teary-eyed Goreski also told Zoe he had reached his breaking point.

Jacobson quit for an hour or two -- before apologizing for the flare-up and un-resigning. "You saw it," she said. "I felt bad. I knew he was trying."

It's been a year since that outburst, and over breakfast in West Hollywood, Jacobson and Goreski now appear to be best friends, giggling and blushing as they recalled the good and bad times, which start anew when Season 2 of the series premieres tonight.

They still fight, they say, but they also see movies and visit restaurants together and regularly call each other at 3 a.m. after a particularly ugly work nightmare hits.

Neither wants to leave Zoe's employ any time soon, considering that her growing client roster now includes A-listers Cameron Diaz, Anne Hathaway and Jennifer Garner and that she's working on a product line that will include a wide variety of accessories plus a line of faux fur due out this year.

What happened between seasons to achieve this new spirit of camaraderie? The two say they found a balance that works. "I just do whatever she tells me," Goreski said.

He's only half-kidding. When Jacobson politely asks the waiter for room temperature water, Goreski explained, "If there's only cold water in the studio, it's not pretty." Jacobson smiled but nodded in agreement, pointing out that "the clients like it too."

Jacobson might seem like a newly minted fashion-reality TV star, but the Beverly Hills native has been paying her dues for years.