1

You're really setting this up with some rom-com tropes you know that right? Firs the flashback. Nice way to bring in a bunch of situations from canon but adding twists. That was fun. It really felt like despite everything, Pam is someone Jim really cares about.

Larissa was a hoot and a half. Loved how she just steamrolled over everything like that. Great use of the character.

Again the feeling that despite some rough edges they do sincerly care about each other. Also feels like there are deeper feelings lying under the surface but they're both not quite willing to explore them...yet.

Kind of fun to see the conditions they set for the "fake dating." That should be fun going forward. "Dont fall in love with me." Right.

Nice job with this one.

Author's Response:

Thank you so much!

Yeah, all I need now is for Jim to turn out to be this secret billionaire no one knew about (???)

I honestly have been watching a lot of The Office to relieve me of my stress so the possible canon stuff to use was just endless. You'll probably see a lot of these moving forward.

Larissa, I definitely got the inspiration from The Devil Wears Prada, particularly Nigel's character which I found so hilarious since I turned Jim into an Anne Hathaway fan. She's probably someone people hate working with since she's so Type A and forward but Jim loves her for that.

Jim and Pam definitely care for each other. As to how they'll explore that, who knows?

"Don't fall in love with me" - definite trope. I just had to include it. 

Hehe, Pam and Jim’s digs at each other throughout the flashback were great: I also loved her throwing the ‘are you jealous’ back in his face in the present day. And her catching him and Katy in the supply closet! And the fact that she is both disgusted and just a little bit flustered.

Cathy taking over and getting Jim a boring present and cake, in contrast with how well Pam knows him, is a really nice touch. (As is the fact that Pam did actually get him a present!) I’m also really enjoying how you’re writing Danny in this - he seems like a nice guy who is genuinely interested in Pam, and it’s refreshing to have someone who is a) normal and b) into Pam as a contender for Jim. It definitely makes things more interesting.

And then Larissa at the end AND Jim pretending Pam is his girlfriend...I really can’t wait for the next chapter!

I’m also all out of jellybeans :(

Author's Response:

Thank you so much!

Yeah, it's really a somewhat charming back and forth between the two of them. Jim mostly wins but I like it when Pam has her moments. The 'Are you jealous' in the present day was really awesome for me because Jim obviously wanted that painting.

With Cathy, I have already written 3 chapters where she is just insane. The funny thing is they're not even together and she still took charge of his birthday. 

With Danny, yeah, I was initially thinking of making him to be a "What the hell does Pam see in this guy?" type of character but I decided to make him into someone who genuinely likes Pam. Of course, even I'm rooting for Jim (and he's a douche here) so we'll see how it plays out.

Rissa and Duncan. That's going to be interesting to say the least. 

1

Ok, I was v excited when I discovered that I’ve got 3 chapters to catch up on this 😀 the flashback in this one is so sad - Pam goes from being so excited and happy to so disappointed, I also love the use of the engaged ain’t married line in a totally different context. (And Kelly’s names for the previous receptionists cracked me up, especially the Twilight reference). I loved that Pam and Jim have a whole routine with his one night stands, including her disapproving head shake. I’m also now intrigued about when she moved in next to him - was she there while she was living with Roy?

Cathy is the actual worst - although I really enjoyed the Ryan dialogue (including the ‘don’t interrupt’), this was him at his douchiest and it fits so well here for Cathy. Ugh and the video - poor Pam. I really like that Jim’s immediate reaction is to comfort/defend her (and maybe this is good if it’s the catalyst for him finally being done with Cathy?) I think Pam’s comment that he gets away with that behaviour and she doesn’t is pretty fair, even if it does lead to Jim leaving her alone :( I am very on board with things better from here haha, if only because I feel for both of them a lot in this chapter.

Author's Response:

Thank you so much! And I'm really trying to find time to catch up with your latest story because I read the first chapter (and half of the second) and I was hooked!

I really hated doing the flashback because it does tarnish the relationship between Jim and Pam but without it, I don't really have a story to write sooooooo

Anything with Kelly, I really go to Twilight because I always think about the poster Jim gave to her. 

With them being neighbors, I can reveal that Pam and Roy were living elsewhere so Pam becomes Jim neighbor after they ended things.

With Cathy, I just really go all out. The bitchier, the better but what I can say is she definitely is a crazy ex-girlfriend.

I really wanted Pam's behavior to be justified somewhat here because at the end of it, it's her character that was getting tarnished. Jim really did get away with it scot free. 

1

So this one starts out as interesting. Pam distancing herself from Jim. After what she's learned I get it. She's engaged and has found out that Jim is probably just trying to get in her pants. Considering his reaction when she lets slip about his reputation, I wonder if he kinda forgot about all that and was truly trying to form a more canon style friendship. Her rejection of that made him continue to act in the Mr. Cool version of himself.

Moving past that I think it's really interesting to get more of Jim's perspective. Him thinking that his relationship with her was more older brother teasing the younger sister kind of thing. I also think there's something off about him. After four years you'd think he'd be well aware of his reputation by now. Yet it kind of feels like it's coming as a shock to him that he's perceived as a player by people. Maybe it's me but I'm having a hard time pinning him down. In his apartment he has nerdy things like a Captian America shield, pictures of his family, and wants a genuine friendship with Pam. Yet theres also this side of him that I've been calling Mr. Cool. Wiling to flirt with just about any attractive woman and has no qualms about one night stands. His revelation to Danny that no he doesn't sleep with clients and that it's Angela being judgemental Angela does cut through some of that. So it'll be interesting to see where we go from here.

Pam is also kind of fascinating here. I think it's telling that she feels dissapointed when it's Danny that shows up at her desk. Yeah there was attraction at first, but it feels like that's staring to wane a bit. I think it was good for Izzy to give her some good advice. She did tell Jim to leave her alone and he did. However now she also knows what she's missing. Someone who keeps her on her toes.

Ending things with them repairing a lot of the tension over the week seemed good. It wasn't quick, it took some time, and both of them had to do some soul searching. However now that they've mended some fences, I think it's telling that they seek each other out rather than anyone else. Nice writing to bring that out.

Author's Response:

Thank you so much!

I think with Jim, he's self aware but at the same time, he was hoping to form just a genuine friendship with Pam. And at the end of it, nobody really likes hearing the truth about themselves especially from someone they like. It's more like, "Okay, I know that but thanks for rubbing it in my face even further." 

I think the reason why it's hard to pin him down is because there really are two sides of him but he only has one side that he's explicitly showing to people. Even the ones in his room, it's really just Pam who sees him for who he is (or was). Well, we also have to assume other women have seen his room but let's just say they don't thoroughly examine it they was Pam does. 

Pam definitely misses Jim more than she realizes and is probably unaware of how big an impact he has on her. We'll see how that plays out.

 The six day timespan was hard to write but I really wanted it written that way so whoever was reading this could see the agony they were in while they were "apart" 

1

This is actually pretty depressing. They have the same connection as in canon, but Jim's reputation and personal flaws keep him apart from the one person who maybe could bring out something better in him. The repurposing of engaged ain't married is clever - taken out of the context of TRUE LOVE it is pretty deeply morally questionable, and I like that you engaged with that.

This is also an interesting twist on canon Jim. They're mainly being held back not by how he treats HER, but how he treats other people... which is striking in light of canon Jim's treatment of most of his non-Pam love interests. Clever stuff.

Ugh. Cathy is the WORST. (The names in the chat were a nice touch - Grey's Anatomy, Airplane! *and* Luanne the extra united as they always should have been.)

Well. I suppose we have to earn our happy endings, and maybe this Jim in particular needs to do more to earn it than most Jims.

Author's Response:

Thank you so much!

Yeah, I feel like it's the same dynamic but at the same time, Jim's a gigantic tool in this so it becomes more complicated in terms of answering, "How do they make this work?". And I agree, BFD can end up so bad so why not have douchey Jim say it?

With Jim, yeah there were times in canon when he could have really treated people better and this story just exaggerated it so much. But yes, he really has a soft spot for Pam. This is a JAM story after all.

Cathy, I'm sorry. I don't think she'll have any redeeming qualities by the end of this, lol. Which kinda goes with canon. I mean, who really likes Cathy?

Douchey Jim will definitely have to work twice as hard. 

1

The parallel Cugino's lunches is a nice touch. I love Jim being fully aware of why the receptionists leave and telling Pam he thinks she's going to stick around! He's smitten, poor guy. Feels like there's more to his backstory there.

I like how even douchey Jim just kinda gets Pam on a certain level. Their banter here is fun ("a male version of Phyllis") and Pam's lousy flirting skills clearly benefit from exposure to Jim. And you managed to create a vintage awkward JAM moment!

Yeah, I'm just really enjoying this.

Author's Response: Thank you so much!

1

Gah, I loved so many things about this chapter! Their first Cugino's lunch, and Pam drawing Jim, was just so sweet (I also lol'd at Jim spluttering over why all the previous receptionists left, I'm really enjoying that running gag) - and I'm now very intrigued about the backstory for him doing a reverse Philly Jim. And then present day Cugino's! Jim asking Pam what she liked in Danny was great - I really liked her spelling out that it was just him being a nice guy and a decent human being (but obviously the 'just tell me seeing him really turns you on' line was then incredible). And then Jim and Pam daring each other to ask people out was just perfect, and Pam first disastrous attempt ('aftermath' cracked me up) - I'm really glad for her that she did then succeed though. And then she hugged him! Combined with an awkward high five, which feels very them. I also feel like Jim is maybe a bit more bothered by Pam's numerous rejections of him than he's letting on...

Author's Response: Thank you so much!

1

Haha, Michael’s bucket list! (I especially loved the ‘travel back in time?’) Brilliant. Their first meeting continues to be very sweet - and then Jim dragging her off to lunch at Cugino’s as Dwight finds out about the stapler was perfect.

And then so many great things back in the present - Pam’s first thought being that he’s a douche for keeping a picture of himself before she realises she’s in his bed was hilarious, and I really like the notes that he left her (especially the last one), and the whole ‘take a picture’ exchange, plus Jim being so turned on by her in his shirt. And they kissed!! And she immediately threw up, lol. I love the way you’ve woven all the flashbacks into this.

Basically, I’m just loving this whole story - can’t wait for their second Cugino’s lunch!

Author's Response:

Thank you so much!

 Michael's bucket list was a gem for me. I kept asking myself, what ridiculous thing would Michael ask Pam to do in 2011? And I went with it. 

 The picture of Jim in the bedroom was also funny. I was also thinking about what's the douchiest thing he could have in his bedroom. That was it.

 The kiss, I almost backed out on but I just remembered how cute the kiss at the Dundies (in the show) and I wanted to have something resembling that.

And with the flashbacks, I got a lot of inspiration from when I read your story (It would've been you). I mean it's one of my favorite stories here and I loved how you integrated it all together and that's what I hope to achieve here as well.

A really interesting chapter to be sure. The flashback still seems par for canon though. I'm guessing Pam's going to find out that this Jim is doing his thing gets upset because she thinks he just sees her as the latest addition to his number of conquests. They really do seem to hit it off there in the start.

Her annoyance at everything as she wakes up was really interesting. Here's the thing for me. The persona Jim seems to have outside his place and how you've described things here seem at odds. The Mr. Cool bed every woman he can salesman outside the office and the dorky family guy Jim one might expect from canon there in his room. To me it seems like there's two different guys there. Especially with how he takes care of her. Clearly this Jim knows quite a bit about Pam.

His thoughts after her drunken kiss seem to lead me to believe that that love lorn longing glances Jim we know from canon is somewhere under all the layers of Mr. Cool. Should be interesting to see where we go from here.

Also once more Pam decides against Danny and turns to Jim. She may say she hates him, but her choices and actions keep saying something else. Good writing to bring that out.

Author's Response: Thank you so much!

I love this story so much! I can’t help but think of Van Halen’s Running with the Devil every time I see the title. It should be the soundtrack to this great fic 😁
Many jellybeans

Author's Response:

Thank you so much!

I actually listened to the song and it's awesome! Thanks for introducing me to it!

1

Hoping the supply closet is foreshadowing.

Interesting to see Jim and Pam clicking on their first day as well here... and the little incidents of Jim failing at flirting with someone he's actually invested in.

Again, I just really like this tenser version of Jim and Pam banter - and you've done well giving us a sense that in Jim's case there's some real affection there. This is just really entertaining.

Author's Response: Thank you so much!

1

I loved the flashback to their first meeting (and Pam assuming literally everyone she meets is the reason previous receptionists have quit, lol) - I'm intrigued to know when/how she stopped thinking Jim could be her friend. And then the Dundies! And Jim in his maroon suit winning hottest in the office 😍 I also really enjoyed the small moment of Ryan pretending to be embarrassed and both Jim and Pam catching it. And I agree with another review here, you did a really good job of showing how awkward she is around Danny (I always wondered how their dates on the show went and how he decided she was a dork, and I feel like the way you've written it here is really realistic), and then how much more herself she is with Jim, even with their antagonism. And then the ending, with Jim helping her out of the bar, giving her a piggyback to his car, their exchange at the end, was just perfect!

Author's Response:

Thank you so much!

I have multiple reasons as to why they won't be friends. Well, at least in Pam's mind because Jim does care.

I remember how Danny won that award in the show over Ryan so I just figured why not use it and have Jim win it?

I'm still working out how the Danny thing will play out but yes, Pam tries too hard with him and it doesn't have that same natural flow with Jim, as much as she feels like she hates him.

The ending, I needed Jim to show his soft side because I don't want to go too far on the other spectrum where he's this bad boy/player stereotype. I still need him to be nice Jim.