She loved Bob Vance and her marriage was going great so far, but every marriage has its compromises. On Monday night, the compromise was staying later than usual for her ride home.

As the sun shined in her face this morning, Phyllis had one hand on the wheel and the other draped over the middle console on to Bob Vance's knee. It was a beautiful morning, she thought. But as the sun set and Bob Vance called to let her know he had some extra work to do, she wasn't as excited. The good news was that she brought in the scarf she was knitting for him and had gotten a good part of it done without anyone in the office to bug her.

As she finished another row of knit stitches, she looked up to see Eric walking toward her from the camera crew's hideout down the long hallway by the conference room. Eric was her favorite camera guy because he always asked the best questions during her interviews and was always the least disruptive during the days he was assigned to film. She totally understood why the documentary company put him in charge.

"Hey Phyllis," he said, a quizzical look on his face. "What are you doing here this late?"

"Oh, Poor Richard's had a whole bank of bar fridges blow out, so Bob Vance is fixing them to keep the bottles cold," she explained with pride in her voice. "I should be leaving soon though."

She watched Eric look around the place, but there was nothing and noone to see. "So you're closing up tonight?" he asked, a smirk on his face.

"Guess so," she replied. She watched him standing in front of her, his head down, his face turning serious. "You OK?"

His eyes flew back up to meet hers. "Oh yeah," he stammered. "Yes, I'm fine."

"You sure?"

"Yeah," he said with a smile on his face that faded quickly. "Actually...no."

"I could tell," Phyllis said matter-of-factly.

He gave her a bit of an embarrassed smile. "Can I tell you something?"

"Sure."

"Well, here's the deal," he said, taking a deep breath. "The company found a possible distributor for the documentary."

"People like watching us do our jobs?" Phyllis asked, a little surprised.

"Yeah," he said. "Well, except there's a problem. We sent them this compilation of scenes that we've shot so far and they liked them overall. They liked Michael and the pranks Jim plays on Dwight and all that. Oh, and they loved the footage from your wedding! They thought it was so great!"

"Really?" Phyllis asked energetically. "That's so nice!"

"Yes and no," Eric replied. "See...they loved the romance and they want more of it for the documentary. The problem is what they want, we don't have."

"What don't you have?"

He looked down at his feet again. "Jim and Pam. Together."

Now it was Phyllis's turn to be a little depressed. She liked Karen, sure, but she loved the way Jim and Pam just seemed so good together. Even when Pam was still with Roy, she thought Jim was better than Pam's lughead of a fiance. They were just...they could be as happy as Phyllis and Bob Vance if they only would do something about it.

"I don't know how you're going to make that happen," Phyllis said, a note of depression in her voice.

"Yeah," Eric replied, the same note in his. And then his face perked up. "Wait a minute. How long are you going to be here?"

"Another half hour, maybe."

"OK, so listen, I have a crazy idea," Eric said, his voice getting more animated. "Maybe you can help me. I mean, it's a bit unethical, but if we could just get some footage by the end of the week, we could get this thing off the ground."

"What kind of help?" Phyllis asked.

"On MTV, they do this show called The Real World and it's a bunch of stupid college kids they throw in a house together and the producers totally manipulate the story behind the scenes to make it more dramatic and such. You know, a fridge stocked full of beer or an in-house jacuzzi to encourage people to skinny dip and such. So maybe you could be the drama we add to the show?"

"I think I'm too old for that, Eric."

"No, no. It wouldn't be like that MTV show. It would be more...well...you would just be in the background nudging things the right way. What do you think?" She was getting a little skeptical about the idea. "Listen, it would only be for this week. We need to get something to this distributor by Friday night and then you're off the hook."

"I guess it wouldn't hurt," she said. "Are you sure this is OK?"

Eric looked down at his feet again. "It's what needs to be done to get some real interest in this thing. You know how long we've been working here and we just need a break, you know?"

She looked at Eric and the desperation on his face. She couldn't walk away without helping. "I'm in," she said.

"You're in?" he asked excitedly.

"I'm in."

"Great!" he said, grinning from ear to ear. "That's just awesome, Phyllis. Listen, though, I think you need to see something first."

"OK," she responded.

"But you can't tell anyone, and I mean NO ONE!, about what I'm going to show you."

"OK."

He smiled. "Follow me," he said, leading her back into the crew's control room.

She had never been in there -- no one in the office was allowed in, actually -- so she was a bit startled by all the DVDs that lined the shelves around the room. She watched as Eric ran his fingers over the spines of the cases, each one meticulously labelled. Diversity Day. Big Sale -- Jan, Michael, Chili's. Call of Duty -- Stamford. Office Olympics -- Flonkerton, PamPong. PamPong? Phyllis had never heard of that, but she did remember winning the flonkerton race that day.

"Here it is!" Eric said, snapping Phyllis out of her daydreaming. He had a DVD in his hand and she could see the cover read, in big, bold letters, "CASINO NIGHT! JIM/PAM". She wondered why they were in all bold. "OK, before I show this to you, please remember what I said."

"I remember," she told him.

"You can't tell anyone you saw this."

"I won't."

He smiled and started getting giddy, like a kid ready to run downstairs on Christmas morning. "I'm so glad I finally get to share this with someone besides the crew. This has been, like, our biggest secret!" he said, almost skipping over to the nearest DVD player and popping the disc in. He moved back from the machine and pressed the fast forward button on his remote. The monitors started flashing with images from the night the office hosted a casino down in the warehouse. Bob Vance gave away a fridge to the biggest winner that night, Phyllis remembered proudly. But she didn't see Bob Vance, just brief glimpses on the monitor of Jim and Pam playing poker, Jim drinking at the bar, Pam talking to Roy by the roulette table.

"OK, here it is," Eric said, slowing it down. "You know Mike? The tall camera guy? This is what he caught on camera that night."

On the monitor, she saw Jim and Pam standing alone in the parking lot. She heard Jim's voice coming through the speakers in the room. "I'm in love with you." Phyllis sucked in her breath with anticipation. "I can't." And just like that, she let it all out in pain. She watched Jim wipe a tear from his eye and walk away as she wiped one from her own. "Oh dear," she said. "No wonder Jim left."

Eric, however, didn't notice. He was too busy pressing the fast forward button. "Don't get too depressed yet. There's more," he said as Phyllis watched the fast-motion scenes flicker before her in quick succession. The camera guy walking to the kitchen and peering out through the blinds. Pam walking in right after that and using Jim's phone. "Here," Eric said, quietly, pressing the play button.  Phyllis watched Jim walk in determined, grab Pam, and sweep her up in a warm and passionate kiss. And then all too soon, she heard him say "OK" as his hand slipped from Pam's.

The room went dark. She sat there stunned.

"So you see why you can't tell anyone about what I just showed you?" Eric asked.

Phyllis could only nod.

"And you see what we're up against?" he asked. He sounded a bit heartbroken himself.

"Yes, I do," she said.

He looked at her hopefully. "You can help us, can't you?"

It sounded like there was alot riding on her. First, she had to think about the livelihoods of the camera crew, who worked tirelessly on this everyday. And then, of course, the happiness of Jim and Pam. But she had to try.

She looked Eric in the eye. "I'll do what I can."

He smiled back. "Thanks, Phyllis," he said, standing up and giving her a hug. "Now, I hate to say this to you, but you have to forget what you saw, you can't let on that you know anything. Just do your normal routine, only with more Matchmaker Phyllis."

She laughed. "Matchmaker Phyllis?"

"Yeah, you're our matchmaking mole."

"I'm honored," she said, looking at her watch. "Oh, and I have to go."

"Oh, OK. So you're now on your own. You can't even tell the other camera guys. If you really get stuck, though, come talk to me and me only."

She smiled. "I will."

"See you tomorrow, Phyllis."

"See you tomorrow." She turned in the doorway to close the door behind her and saw Eric meticulously closing the DVD case and slipping it gently back on the shelf.

She easily forgave Bob Vance for running late that night.

Phyllis sat at her desk early the next morning with the beginnings of a plan in her head. She didn't know how it was going to work exactly or what excuse she would make, but she had a starting point: Pranks.

She heard Jim talking to Pam and looked up to see him leaning over the reception desk. She quickly glanced around the room to see if anyone else had noticed, her eyes finally resting on Karen. It seemed that not only did Karen notice, but she was looking pissed. Phyllis had to act fast before Karen went over to break up the happy couple at the other end of the room.

Phyllis got up and walked as fast as she could towards Pam and Jim. She tried to casually grab a jelly bean, and then gave Jim and Pam a look that she hoped would make them think she had something good for them. "Hey," she said, playing with the jelly bean in her hand. "Are you guys busy today?"

Jim gave her a quizzical look. "Are we ever busy?"

Phyllis smiled back at him. "Oh good! Because listen, Dwight is being extra annoying today and well...I know you guys are good at pranks...I thought that maybe you could help me out?" She hoped she didn't sound like she was leading them on too much, even though she was.

Pam got a giddy look on her face as Jim smiled warmly at her. "Mrs. Bob Vance, it would be a pleasure to serve you," he said in a gentlemanly manner.

"Oh good! Then I'll leave you two to come up with a great idea. I know you won't disappoint me."

Phyllis put the jelly bean in her mouth and walked back to her desk, smiling at herself. She saw Eric with his camera standing by the conference room door. He got the whole thing on tape and as she sat down, she noticed he was focusing on her and Karen. She hoped this would be good material for the crew's presentation next week.

*** *** ***

The day went along quietly until the afternoon when Dwight left to go meet with a client. Jim and Pam gave him a five-minute head start before quietly slipping out of the office, noticed by no one except Phyllis and Karen.

Phyllis thought Karen seemed a little on edge, especially considering she probably didn't know where they were going together. Phyllis did. When she and Bob Vance went out to lunch that day, Bob Vance told her that he had a chair in his office that needed to be returned. Apparently, he ordered a new one last week, but the chair company accidentally sent him a special mini-chair usually reserved for small women like Angela with little hips. Bob Vance wasn't small.

As soon as Phyllis got back to the office, she quietly told Pam to meet her in the women's bathroom in ten minutes. Pam, of course, had no problem following orders and was there right on time. Phyllis asked her if the chair could be of some use, and Pam delightfully told her it would be perfect.

"Jim is going to be so excited! OK, I didn't hear this from you, but thank you so much, Phyllis." She walked out of the door right as Karen was walking in.

"What's she so excited about?" Karen asked sarcastically.

"Oh, I don't know," Phyllis answered innocently.

Now, sitting at their desks, Karen turned from watching "The Jim and Pam Spectacle" walk out the door to see Phyllis looking at her. Phyllis gave her a slight smile and looked back to her computer screen. She could hear Jim and Pam giggling behind her as they came back in with the new chair.

Phyllis heard a little cheer of joy in her head.

*** *** ***

Everyone started packing up their stuff for the day as Dwight was extricating himself from the chair he squeezed into earlier. Somehow, Jim had convinced him that there was a bug going around attacking beets, which then caused beet-eaters to gain a huge amount of weight in a matter of hours. Hence, it wasn't the chair that was small, it was Dwight who got bigger.

Phyllis made sure to get up at the same time Karen did, knowing that she was about to leave with Jim. As they huddled around the coat stand, Phyllis pushed herself in between the couple, turning her back to Karen as she put her coat on. "Jim and Pam," she said. "I just wanted to thank you for your help today. You always do so well with pranks when you work together!" She hoped they noticed the emphasis she put on the "together" part.

"Anything for you, Mrs. Vance," Jim said with a smile.

"Oh, and Pam?" she said, turning slightly while still ignoring Karen. "Do you remember Bob Vance's niece Susan from the wedding?"

"A little."

"Well, I got Susan a red dress at the mall that was too small for her, but it's so pretty that I thought maybe I could give it to you."

"Oh," Pam said, a little stunned. "That would be nice."

"A red dress? It already sounds too sexy to wear to work. I don't think Michael and Kevin will be able to get any work done if you wear a dress like that," Jim said, a smile spreading across his face.

Pam returned his smile with one of her own. "We'll see...Phyllis, I'm a size 6. Is the dress the same?"

"It's a size 6 too! Oh, what a coincidence. This is going to be so great!"

Phyllis heard Karen mutter "Not really," under her breath. Phyllis smiled. Bringing Jim and Pam closer would be great, but getting rid of Karen at the same time would be even better. After all, Karen was the one who was so rude about her perfume from Bob Vance.

She said said good night to everyone and headed for her car. Phyllis and Bob Vance drove separately that day because she told him she had some errands to run after work. In actuality, it was only one: She had to get to the mall to buy a sexy red dress. Pam could pay her back for it later.

Phyllis got to work a little earlier than usual that morning, probably because she had prodded Bob Vance to get ready quicker. She was just too excited about the dress she found for Pam the night before. Well, and the shoes. She walked by the cutest pair of strappy red sandals at Payless and thought they would match the dress perfectly. The shoes were on sale for $10 so how could she resist?

As soon as she opened the door, she saw Pam sitting at her desk already, but the office was mostly empty other than that. Pam looked up at her and she smiled back.

"Pam!" she said, tossing the shopping bags on the couch as she took off her coat. "I have the best news."

"Really?" Pam said.

Phyllis knew she would never normally announce this, but figured it was the excuse that would elicit the fewest questions. "I had to buy Bob Vance some new underwear yesterday and saw the cutest shoes at the mall that I thought would match Susan's dress so I bought them! I hope they fit."

"What size are they?" Pam asked in a giddy voice.

"Size 8. Is that OK?"

"Close enough!" Pam said as Phyllis handed her the bags over her receptionist counter.

"So listen," Phyllis explained. "I want to make sure this fits and the shoes look right and everything, so maybe another fashion show at lunch?"

"Um..."

Phyllis was going to have to push a little harder. "You wouldn't have to wear it the whole day. You know, just enough to make sure all the guys in the office know you're cute," she said, winking at Pam.

"I'm doing this only because you asked me to," Pam said, smiling.

Phyllis smiled back and picked up her purse from the couch, hearing the voices of Jim and Karen behind the door leading in to the office. It was going to be alright, though. Today was going to be a good day.

*** *** ***

"Hey," Jim said, leaning over Karen's desk. "Ready for lunch?"

"Yeah," she replied.

Things were so much easier with Phyllis's desk right next to Karen. "Oh," Phyllis said. "Are you guys eating in the kitchen?"

"Maybe. Why?" Jim answered.

He has no idea what he's getting himself into. "Well, I brought that dress for Pam and she's trying it on at lunch so..." Phyllis leaned toward them and lowered her voice "...I think she's feeling a little down now that this whole Roy thing is officially over again so maybe you can give her a nice compliment on the dress. You know...give her a confidence boost."

Jim gave her a strained smile. "I can do that."

"Yeah, me too," Karen said, but not very convincing.

*** *** ***

By the time Pam was done with her morning work, a few people were already in the kitchen eating lunch. Phyllis watched her walk into the bathroom with shopping bags in tow...along with Kelly and her make-up bag.

Pam came out looking absolutely stunning. The dress Phyllis had found was fire-engine red with a flared skirt that hung just above Pam's knees. The halter top on the dress tied at the back of her neck, exposing a huge amount of skin on her back and plenty in the front, which made her cleavage noticeable without being slutty. Phyllis smiled. She really had done a great job picking out the dress if she did say so herself, and the shoes were so sexy.

Phyllis looked over to see Jim's reaction to the dress. He was sitting next to his girlfriend, which made Phyllis think he was holding back his emotions, but the ones he was letting out were enough to know that he thought she looked stunning.

"Wow," Kevin said, in a way only Kevin could say. "You look hot, Pam. Like, really hot. Like, you should wear that to work everyday."

"I don't think so, Kevin, but thanks," Pam replied.

"You do look amazing, Pam," Jim told her with a warm, genuine tone in his voice.

Kelly squealed from behind her. "I know! You could totally get any guy you wanted here by just walking through the office with that dress on. Well...you know...except for Ryan."

Pam gave her an awkward smile. "Yeah...Well, OK. I guess the fashion show is over."

Oh, no. She has to stay in that dress longer. "I don't know, Pam," Phyllis said quickly. "It's just such a great dress and Kelly did your make-up and everything. Maybe we can find some use for it in the office today." Too bad Phyllis couldn't think of a good excuse at the moment she needed one.

"I know!" Jim said. "Dwight keeps talking about this girlfriend of his. If you hit on him in that dress, I can finally hear him admit she's imaginary."

Phyllis looked over at Jim, who was excited about his idea, and Karen, who was not.

Pam looked at him nervously. "I don't know."

"C'mon, Pam. Please do it," he said pleadingly. "For me."

"What do I get out of it?"

"Dark chocolate Hershey's kisses instead of jelly beans for a week," he said, taking a bite of his ham and cheese sandwich and then smiling at her.

Pam couldn't help but give in to him. "OK, you're on. I'll be at Dwight's desk at 1:30. If you miss it, it's your own fault."

Kelly started to get even more excited. "That only gives us a half hour to really get your make-up right, Pam." She pushed Pam back through the bathroom door and out of sight.

Phyllis would have to thank Jim later for the wonderful idea.

*** *** ***

Right at 1:30, Phyllis watched Pam walk out of the kitchen towards Dwight's desk. She leaned against it hesitantly and Phyllis noticed Jim sitting behind her, staring at her exposed back with almost a glint of lust in his eyes. Phyllis quickly turned back to her desk, pretending to work while she eavesdropped on the conversation behind her.

"Dwight, do you mind if I ask you a question?"

Phyllis could hear Dwight take a deep breath. "Um...Pam. I don't think that's an appropriate outfit for this office."

"Well, I wasn't going to ask you about the outfit," Pam replied. "I actually...well...I just was wondering if maybe you would like to go out on a date with me?"

"While I am flattered, Pam, dating is useless to the Schrutes. We don't do casual dating. We take women to dinner and such as part of an interview process for mating purposes only."

"Oh," Pam replied.

"Plus," Dwight said matter-of-factly. "I have a girlfriend."

"Really? What's her name?"

"It doesn't matter what her name is Pam. All that matters is that I love her."

"Uh huh."

"But you are a beautiful woman and while that dress is not appropriate for work, you look very nice in it."

"Thanks, Dwight," she said brightly.

"And my girlfriend dresses conservative and I like her for that." Dwight's voice then became quiet and sincere. "You don't need to wear a dress like that to make people notice you. I've learned that if someone doesn't love you for who you are, they don't deserve you."

Phyllis turned around to see Pam's reaction. She was staring at her feet and looked like she was on the verge of crying. "Thanks, Dwight," she said, giving him a weak smile.

Pam stood up, grabbed her coat off the rack, and walked out the door. Jim watched her go, then quickly turned back to his desk. Phyllis could tell by the look on his face that Dwight had struck a nerve. She knew why, too -- Jim was the only man Phyllis knew that ever loved Pam simply for who she was.

Pam never came back that day. Jim told Michael she wasn't feeling well after lunch so he gave her the rest of the day off. He seemed pretty quiet the rest of the day and told Karen something had come up and he had to cancel their dinner plans for the night. Phyllis thought his excuse sounded transparent.

*** *** ***

"Wait!" Phyllis heard someone yell. She quickly pressed the "Door Open" button on the elevator just in time to see Eric from the camera crew slipping through the doors.

"Thanks," he said, giving her a smile that quickly faded. "You OK?"

"Yeah," Phyllis said quickly. "I just have something on my mind."

"About what?"

Phyllis looked at him and tried to think of how to explain this to him covertly. "Well...I tried to help some friends today and I think I may have hurt them instead. What do you think?"

"I think you're doing a great job so far with what you've been given," he said, smiling at her.

"Are you sure?" she asked apprehensively.

The elevator dinged and the doors opened. "I'm sure you're doing much better than you think," Eric said, holding the door open for her.

They walked out to the parking lot and started to part ways as Phyllis headed to Bob Vance's car.

"Phyllis!" Eric called out.

She turned around to see him standing with his keys in his hands. "You're getting really close to your goal so don't give up yet."

"I won't," she said.

Maybe Eric saw more than Phyllis. Maybe he was just more positive about the whole situation. Maybe he was lying to her just to boost her confidence. Whatever the excuse, it was what Phyllis needed to keep her going. She didn't have a plan for what to do next, but she knew she could come up with something. She had to.

As with every other morning, Phyllis needed at least one cup of coffee before she could even consider dealing with Michael. She dropped her stuff at her desk, grabbed her mug, and headed to the kitchen.

She found Jim standing in front of the coffee maker. Actually, he wasn't exactly standing. He was bent in half at his waist, his forehead resting on the countertop.

"Jim?"

He stood up straight and looked at her sheepishly. "Hey."

"You must have had an exciting night," Phyllis said, smiling at him. "Did you do anything interesting?"

She was hoping he went to find Pam after she left so quickly yesterday. Maybe he found her and they talked. Maybe they shared a bottle of wine, which would explain his disheveled look today. Whatever it was, she wanted it to be with Pam.

"I passed out drunk on my couch last night," he explained.

"Oh, did you go out with friends?" Pam perhaps?

"No," Jim said, a little embarassed. "Just me. At home. Soooo...yeah."

"Oh, dear," Phyllis replied quietly. "Well, I have some aspirin in my drawer if you need it. It's always helpful when Michael is around."

She started to feel guilty again about yesterday and the dress. She never expected Dwight to say what he did, she never expected him to hit a nerve like that with both Pam and Jim. It was Dwight, after all. But she was the one who bought the dress and she was the one who didn't object when Jim brought up the idea of the prank.

Phyllis reached past Jim as he stirred his coffee in silence and poured herself a cup.

"Can I ask you something?" he said, his voice cracking a bit.

"Sure."

"You and Bob Vance seem so great together....How do you do that?"

She smiled warmly at Jim. Maybe she could push him just a little bit more. "Bob Vance is my best friend," she said. "Who's yours?"

Jim strugged his shoulders and stared down at his coffee. "Pam...I guess," he said quietly.

Phyllis took a deep breath. She thought again about Pam's red dress and almost stopped herself from saying what she was about to. But looking at Jim standing there in front of her, she could tell it was probably something he already knew.

"It seems like you and Karen have been working really hard on your relationship recently."

"Yeah, you could say that," he said, giving her a weak smile.

"Maybe the relationship you should be working on isn't the one you have with Karen."

There was silence in the kitchen for several seconds before Phyllis heard the door open behind her.

"Jimbo and Phyllisity!" she heard Michael bellow. "Ah, what secrets are you two sharing in here?"

"Just getting coffee," Jim said sarcastically as he headed for the door.

"Ah, yes. Have to get your caffeine so you're wide awake for the sales meeting today!" Michael said enthusiastically.

Phyllis rolled her eyes and followed Jim out the door. She wasn't about to tell Michael they needed the caffeine to stay awake during his boring sales meetings.

She also decided not to ask Jim about the bag of Hershey's Kisses she saw on Pam's desk this morning. He had enough on his mind already.

*** *** ***

"And finally, Mifflinites, how can we sell more paper?" Michael asked.

Phyllis looked around the room. No one was paying attention except for Dwight. "Maybe we need a motivation like a prize for the best sales person."

Michael gave him a surprised look. "Good idea, Dwight. So what would be a good prize?"

"Paint ball lessons," Dwight replied.

"Dinner somewhere, maybe."

"Ick. What are you, Ryan? A woman?" Michael replied. "Oh, that's it! Paint ball for the guys," he said in a macho voice, "and a romantic dinner for the ladies." Phyllis thought Michael's romantic voice was creepy. "Karen, if you win, you can take Jim, and Phyllis, you can take your husband. OK, if there isn't anything else..."

Wait a minute... "Um, actually Michael, can we change the rules a bit?" Phyllis asked.

Michael scowled at her. "Maybe. What do you want to change?"

"Well, I would like to have dinner with Jim, too."

Phyllis saw Karen shoot her an evil look, but Jim was giving her warm smile. "I like how you think, Mrs. Vance," he told her.

"Jim!" Karen spat.

"What?" he said innocently. "Either way, I get to have a free dinner with a beautiful woman so..." He turned and winked at Phyllis and she gave him a flirty smile back.

But Karen wasn't going to let this go. "Phyllis is a married woman."

"Oh, that's OK," she said lightly. "Bob Vance knows that Jim is a gentleman. Besides, Jim deserves a reward for all the work he's been doing as assistant regional manager. It'll be fun!"

Jim's eyebrows went up as he looked at Karen, giving her a pleading puppy dog look. "Fine," she said.

"OK, so it's settled!" Michael announced. "Whoever sells the most paper by the end of today wins the prizeses!"

Phyllis walked back to her desk with a smile on her face. She was pretty proud of coming up with her little plan so quickly. Now all she needed to do was win.

*** *** ***

Apparently, Phyllis underestimated her paper-selling skills. When all was said and done, she not won the contest, but had doubled Karen's total for the day. It probably helped that Pam had forwarded two new clients on to her even though she wasn't next on the list to answer a new client's call. She hoped Pam did that on purpose to help her out. If anything, it would make Phyllis believe Pam was more interested in Jim than she was letting on.

"Nice job today," Karen said as Phyllis got up to leave.

"You're a good competitor," she answered. It was the only compliment she could think of.

Phyllis excitedly walked over to Jim's desk. "Jim?"

"Yeah?" he said, smiling when he saw it was her.

"Are you available tomorrow night for that dinner?" she asked tentatively.

She noticed Jim glace quickly at Karen before looking back at her. "Actually, I am."

"Oh good!" she said. "So I made the reservation at Anthony's for 7 o'clock if that's alright."

"Sounds great! Um...am I supposed to pick you up or do you want me to just meet you there?"

"Oh, I'll just meet you there."

He gave her one of his trademark loopy smiles. "Sounds good. Oh, and make sure Bob Vance knows that I promise not to try any funny business tomorrow."

"Why not?" Phyllis said.

Jim gave her a surprised look. "Phyllis Lapin Vance," he said in a scolding voice.

She giggled. "I'll tell Bob you'll be on your best behavior."

"Thank you," Jim said. "I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Tomorrow."

"And Phyllis? You did a great job today. Congratulations." She could tell that when he said it, he really meant it -- even if she did beat his girlfriend out for the prize.

She walked over to the rack and grabbed her coat. After putting it on, she leaned over Pam's desk. "Pam?" she said in a whisper.

Pam rolled her chair closer to Phyllis. "Hey," she replied quietly.

"I just wanted to thank you for your help today. You know, with those new clients." Pam looked like she had just been caught breaking the law. "Oh, don't worry. I won't tell."

"It wouldn't have mattered anyway," Pam said. "You're really great at what you do."

Phyllis smiled. "Thanks, Pam."

"You're welcome. Have a good night."

"You, too."

Phyllis walked out, thinking about how exciting her date with Jim was going to be the next day. She couldn't wait to tell Bob Vance.

Last night, Phyllis was once again reminded that one of the things she loved about Bob Vance was that he was a romantic at heart. So when she told him about her date with Jim, he was more than happy to help out.

As she walked to her desk, Phyllis noticed that the candy dish at the reception desk was now filled with the Hershey's kisses Jim had given Pam despite not fulfilling her task with Dwight's prank. Phyllis smiled. Her plan was going to work. Everything was going to be perfect.

She sat down at her desk and gave a curt hello to Karen, who was not looking pleased.

"Phyllis?"

She turned to see Eric standing next to her. "Hey. How are you?" she said, trying to seem as normal as possible.

"Oh, good," he replied. "Listen...I'm going to be at the restaurant tonight filming your dinner with Jim if that's OK."

Phyllis gave him a sly smile. "That sounds like a good idea."

Eric looked back at her with a bit of bewilderment in his voice. "Um...OK. So to just get an idea about camera filters and lighting, can you tell me what color you'll be wearing tonight?"

"Color?"

"Yeah, you know how it is," Eric explained. "Since it's not the normal office, we have to adjust because we're shooting somewhere unfamiliar."

"Oh right," she replied. "Um...I'll probably be wearing...red."

Karen's head snapped up from her desk as she stared at Phyllis.

"Red?" Eric said, his voice breaking a little. "Good. That um...that sounds really great, Phyllis." He gave her a suspicious look and then a huge smile spread across his face. He quickly covered it with a fake cough. "So yeah...good. I'll see you tonight then."

"Yes. Tonight," Phyllis answered.

Eric walked away and Phyllis made eye contact with Karen. She was still staring, but quickly averted her eyes.

Phyllis felt kind of bad in that moment for beating Karen the day before. Then she heard Pam's voice drift across the office as she answered phones and the guilt quickly disappeared.

*** *** ***

Phyllis waited until the afternoon, after Jim had left for the day to go on some sales calls, before putting things in motion. It was around 4 o'clock when she finally approached the receptionist's desk.

"Pam?" she asked quietly. "I have a bit of a problem that I'm hoping you can help me out with."

"Sure," Pam replied.

"Well, something has come up and I won't be able to make it to dinner with Jim. I've tried calling him on his cell phone to let him know, but he's not answering."

"Oh," Pam said. "Well, I can try to reach him if you want."

"No! No, no, that's OK," Phyllis stammered. "I know you want to get your work done to get out of here. So, well, I thought maybe you could take my place instead."

"Is Karen busy tonight?"

Why are you being so difficult, Pam? "Well, I thought of that, but I won and it would be a little weird for the loser to get my prize, don't you think?"

Pam looked down at her hands and got quiet. "I guess. Yeah...that makes sense."

"So can you go instead?"

"Sure," Pam said, nodding her head. "Yeah, I can go."

Phyllis looked down and smiled. "Oh good! Thank you so much for helping me out, Pam. So...the reservation is at 7 o'clock at Anthony's. Maybe you can wear that dress I gave you earlier this week."

Pam looked a bit taken aback. "Um...I don't know."

"Oh, you should. It looked so good on you."

Phyllis saw something change in Pam's expression -- it looked like a wave of confidence had finally started to take over. "You know, I might do that. Thanks."

"No problem."

"Um, Phyllis, just out of curiosity. Why won't you be able to make it tonight?"

"Well, I kind of ruined the surprise with this whole prize thing, but Bob Vance is taking me out for a romantic dinner."

Pam gave her a giddy look. "That sounds so nice! You're so lucky you found Bob Vance."

"You'll find someone like that soon enough, Pam."

Pam's smile faded a bit. "Yeah, maybe I will."

"Thanks again for helping me out tonight."

"Sure."

Phyllis turned back toward her desk and saw Eric in the corner with his camera. She could see he was smiling at her.

*** *** ***

"Phyllis, you have to stop sticking your head out or he's going to see you."

She turned to look at her husband sitting across the table from her. "You be quiet. I just want to make sure this works out. I'm so nervous!"

Bob Vance smiled at her. "I'm sure it'll be fine," he said.

Sitting in the farthest back corner of Anthony's was her idea. The good thing was there a tall fern right by their table so no one could see them. The bad thing was that it obstructed her view of the table she told the hostess to seat Jim at, so she was straining her neck to see it. She looked to her left again and saw Eric on the other side of the restaurant with his camera. She wasn't sure if he knew she was there, but that was fine with her since she wasn't the story tonight.

She craned her neck again to see Jim walking over to the table. He was wearing the black suit he wore to her wedding with a white shirt and grey tie. Then she saw the bouquet of roses in his hand -- reds and pinks and whites with baby's breath sticking through the sides.

"Oh no," she whispered.

Bob Vance looked at her quizzically. "What's wrong?"

"I feel so bad for standing Jim up. He wore a nice suit and brought me flowers and everything."

"You mean, he brought Pam flowers."

Phyllis smiled at her husband. "Yes, he brought Pam flowers. I take back feeling sorry for him."

"I don't know about that. I mean, Jim is having dinner with the second prettiest woman in the room," Bob Vance said, grabbing Phyllis's hand from across the table.

She could feel herself blushing and once again reminded herself that she was the luckiest girl in the world. She was so wrapped up in Bob Vance that she almost didn't notice Pam's arrival. Then she saw a flash of red out of the corner of her eye.

Pam was standing just behind Jim in her red dress and strappy sandals with a black pashmina covering her arms. She looked like she was debating whether to tell Jim she was there or to just turn around and go home before he noticed her.

Don't leave, Pam. Don't leave, Phyllis thought.

And at that moment, Phyllis saw Pam walk forward. She turned to face Jim so Phyllis couldn't see her face. All she saw was Jim look up as if Pam had said his name. He stared at her for several seconds as Pam fidgeted with the pashmina around her arms. Phyllis figured she was explaining why she wasn't the dinner companion Jim expected.

Jim kept staring at Pam, then he looked her up and down and gave her one of those warm, electric smiles of his that even made Phyllis weak in the knees. He stood up and walked behind Pam, letting his right hand linger on the small of her back as he pulled her chair out. She sat down and he pushed it in for her, his hands briefly resting on her bare shoulders before reaching around and handing her the bouquet of roses. Pam turned as smiled up at him as she took them in her hands. Then he sat down in his seat and smiled across the table.

"Phyllis?"

"What?" She had almost forgotten she was at Anthony's with a date.

"How's it going?" Bob Vance whispered.

She couldn't control the huge smile on her face. "Perfect," she said.

Phyllis watched Jim order a bottle of wine for him and his date. She could see the smile on his face as he listened to Pam talk, could see his eyes light up as he responded to her. She could see Pam's animated hands as she told a story that made Jim laugh. And when their dinners arrived, she even caught Jim quickly glance at Pam's breasts when she wasn't looking.

And in between all of that, Phyllis had her own conversations with Bob Vance, watched him laugh at her run-in today with Michael, asked him questions as he talked about how business went this week. She even caught herself glancing at him as she ate, thinking how lucky she was to have found him.

They waited until Pam and Jim left their table before they got up and headed out for the night. As they walked out of the restaurant, Phyllis saw Jim and Pam sitting at the bar -- still talking and still seeming to have a good time in each other's company.

*** *** ***

She had decided to wait for Karen to show up before she would go over to talk to Jim, but Karen never showed. By the afternoon, Phyllis couldn't take it anymore.

"Jim? Hi."

"Hey, Phyllis," Jim replied as his eyes narrowed. "I hope you're here to apologize for standing me up."

She smiled at him. "I am, but in my defense, Bob Vance had a romantic dinner planned for us so I think I sent a suitable replacement."

Jim's features softened a bit. "You did," he said quietly.

"Oh good," she replied. "By the way, I haven't seen Karen all day. Is she alright?"

"Um...what?"

"Your girlfriend? She's not here."

Jim looked down at his desk and started fidgeting in his chair. "She's not...really...anymore."

"Oh," Phyllis said, trying to sound sympathetic despite the fact that she was about to burst with happiness.

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry, Jim."

He looked up at her and gave her a bit of a laugh. "Really? Because I don't think you are," he said, smirking at her.

"I just want you to be happy," she said, gently squeezing his shoulder.

"I know you do."

"Phyllis?" She looked up to see Pam standing behind the reception desk with a card in her hand and a vase full of spring flowers. "These are for you."

Phyllis walked over and grabbed the card from Pam's hand.

"To Our Mole --
We got our distributor! Thanks for your help."

The card wasn't signed, but she knew exactly who it was from. She was almost jumping out of her skin, wishing she could tell someone, but she quickly regained her composure. The deal with Eric, the kiss between Jim and Pam, the dress and the dinner -- those were going to be her secrets for a little while longer.

Phyllis heard a voice, but was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn't understand it. "What?"

"I said, you and Bob Vance must have had a very romantic dinner if you're getting flowers like that at work," Pam said.

"Yeah," Phyllis replied, realizing Pam was assuming the bouquet came from someone else. It was the perfect cover, she thought, before deciding to put one last thought in Pam's head. "Usually, a girl just knows she's loved, but sometimes she needs a dinner and flowers to be reminded."

She looked up at Pam, who gave her a broken smile in return. Phyllis could see her eyes getting a bit watery. She turned to see Jim smiling at Pam as he got up to try and casually grab a Hershey's kiss from the desk.

She grabbed the vase and started walking back to her desk; she knew when she wasn't needed anymore. The flowers were placed in an open spot just to the left of Phyllis's keyboard -- the perfect place to block Karen from her view if she ever came back. Phyllis doubted that would be happening anytime soon.