Dwight just sat there, wondering how his world just crashed around him. He was sure Michael would get the job. Why wouldn’t they hire the most qualified person? He didn’t quite buy Michael’s explanation that he refused to take Jan’s job. Surely that couldn’t be the reason, because Michael wanted that job more than anything else. It was probably the fault of those insipid office workers who refused his order to only wish good luck to Michael. He always remembered the advice of his father. You tempt with the fates, and apocalyptic destruction will rain down on you. Since the age of 3, Dwight would never forget that guiding wisdom.

Now everything he had worked for is gone. No more shot at branch manager. Michael was going to be there forever. No more in-depth lectures on the paper industry. Back to the silly ethnic celebrations and movie days. However, there was one thing that comforted Dwight. He figured at the very least Jim would get the job. For some bizarre reason, everyone seemed to like Jim. If he got the job, then Dwight would finally be rid of him. No more pranks. No more staplers in Jell-O, wallets in vending machines, or seeing Meredith on the toilet. And without Jim’s influence, Pam could be a reliable ally against the other malcontents in the office. Yes, this could be good after all.

“Hey Dwight”, a familiar voice said, although it was a bit more hurried than usual.

Dwight let out a long gasp. “What are you doing here? Didn’t you get the job?”

“Nope”, Jim said dismissively. “Have you seen … oh never mind…” Jim trailed off as he notices something in the conference room and walks over there.

Dwight began to wonder when this misery would ever end. Then he saw a hysterical Kelly (even more so than usual) running toward the elevator. She was crying and visibly upset at something that just happened. Then moments after Jim returned to his desk, Dwight saw Pam walk out of the conference room. She didn’t look quite as upset, but she had clearly just been crying.

“Alright, what is wrong with the women in this office?! Why are they all crying?” The outburst startled Michael, who popped his head out of the office to see what all the commotion was about.

Jim teased, “Actually Dwight, I think they’re just all upset that you’re taken and will never have a chance with you.”

“That’s stupid, I would never be with any of them.” This prompted a stern look from Angela. “Except Angela”. Angela’s eyes were now shooting daggers at him. “I mean, especially Angela. Yuck.”

“Dwight!” Michael scolded. “That’s a terrible thing to say. These are wonderful, beautiful women. If I wasn’t back together with Jan, I’d be gettin bizzay!! Even with Phyllis. Know what I’m sayin!” Michael went over to give Jim a high five, but then stopped. “Wait a second, why are you back? Didn’t you get the job?”

“Nah, I decided not to go through with it. I realized I couldn’t leave here because I’m in love with Dwight.”

“Jim! That's not funny. Michael, tell him to stop!” Dwight shouted.

Michael ignored Dwight. “Ah ha ha ha. What a jokester. Good thing you’ll still be around, Jimbo. What would we do without this guy?”

Throughout all of this commotion, Jim and Pam’s eyes met for the first time since they agreed to go out on a date. They smiled at each other and Pam mouthed “Welcome Back.” Jim nodded in recognition and held up the gold medal yogurt lid.

Kevin chose this moment to walk by on his way home for the night, and noticing their interaction he said to Jim, “Good choice.”

“Thanks, Kev.” Jim replied, and was glad that Kevin kept walking instead of making another inappropriate comment. Jim got up and walked over to reception. “Hey, just wanted to let you know I was back.”

“Oh yeah, thanks, I didn’t even notice.” Pam playfully lied. “So, I’ve got big news!”

“Really?”

“Yeah, somebody asked me out today. I have a date tonight.”

“Wow. So here’s where I’m supposed to act all awkward and pretend that it doesn’t bother me.”

“Exactly, and I’m supposed to pretend that I don’t notice it makes you uncomfortable.

“Excellent. Everything back to normal.” They both smiled and quietly laughed.

“So, I wonder where he’s taking me tonight?”

“It’s a surprise. I’ll … I mean he’ll see you at 7.”

“Sounds great.”

Later on that night, they were in Jim’s car. The silence was a bit awkward and they exchanged a few furtive glances throughout the ride. Finally Pam couldn’t take it anymore.

“Okay, you have to tell me now. Where are you taking me?”

“We’re almost there”

“We are?”

“Yep. In fact, here we go.” As Jim pulled into a parking lot, Pam looked at where they were and was extremely confused.

“You’re taking me here? Why?”

“Come on Beesley, don’t be a party pooper. You’ll see.”

It wasn’t until Jim led her up the ladder to the roof of Dunder-Mifflin when she remembered. As they got to the roof, Jim pulled out the picnic basket he grabbed from the break room refrigerator. They sat down on the two chairs Jim had set up and Pam wistfully looked out at the star-filled nighttime sky. “I should have never doubted you. This is a perfect idea for a first date.”

“Second date,” Jim corrected her.

Pam smiled. “Right.” They began to eat the sandwiches that Jim had prepared. As the night wore on, the awkwardness began to evaporate. They were back to their old ways, laughing about the antics at Dunder-Mifflin or teasing each other about their various odd habits. And they began to move closer and closer to one another.

“There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you for a while now.”

Closer.

Pam was a little nervous about the question, but decided to play along. “Shoot.”

Closer.

“How come you were calling your mom from my desk?”

Closer.

Pam smiled. “Well I would have used Dwight’s phone, but who knows what you did with it. I didn’t want to hit myself in the head with a receiver full of nickels.”

Closer.

Jim laughed. “Well it worked out great. Made it a much easier path for me to…” Jim trailed off.

Closer.

“To what?” Pam replied anxiously. She never did get an answer to that question, at least not in the form of words. But she didn’t care, because now Jim’s lips were touching hers. And this time it was without the added baggage of her being drunk or her impending wedding. For the first time, everything between them felt perfect.

“Freeze!”

Jim and Pam broke their kiss and turned around to the horror of Dwight, standing there in his underwear with his plastic light saber pointed at them. He dropped it when he saw it was Jim and Pam.

Uh oh.

Knock knock.

It was about time. Pam was at the door for their Friday night date. She thought it would be cute if they reversed things and she picked him up this time. She wasn't late, but Jim had gotten ready so quickly he didn't know what to do with the rest of his time. His anxiety was quickly relieved when he opened the door to reveal Pam, standing there with a bouquet of roses. Jim smiled, but looked a bit confused.

“Flowers? For me?”

“No, silly. They’re for me.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Well I offered to pick you up, and when you arrive to pick up a date, it’s appropriate to bring flowers.”

“For yourself?”

“Well I didn’t peg you as a flowers kind of guy, so I bought some for you to give to me. Look, I even included a card.”

Jim took the card and read it out loud. “To the most awesome Sudoku player on the planet?”

“Awww, Jim! That’s so sweet.”

“Second,” Jim corrected her.

“What?”

“Second most awesome Sudoku player on the planet.”

“Oh really?”

“Level moderate? 17 minutes.” Jim pointed at himself.

Pam smiled confidently. “16 minutes.” She stuck her tongue out at him.

“Yeah, right!”

“Oh you don’t believe me? You think I’d lie about a Sudoku score.”

“I’m just saying, I think I might need to check your computer at reception.”

“Hmmm, I may have accidentally erased it.” They both smiled. “So this is fun, but are we going to stand here forever?”

Jim just now noticed that they’re still standing in the doorway. “Oh yeah, of course. Sorry about that.”

“Such a dork,” Pam teased.

“Come on in. Let’s get these in water. They can go right next to the ones I already bought for you.”

“Seriously?” Pam said with an excited grin on her face.

After putting the flowers in water, they headed out for the night. At Cugino’s, they had their first real dinner date. They laughed and joked, even playing a prank on the snooty waiter. They followed this up by taking a trip to the movie theater.

"Are you sure you want to see 28 Weeks Later?" Jim asked.

"Of course. Why not?"

"Well I feel it is my duty to warn you that Sandra Bullock isn't in this one."

"Ha ha. Very funny. I bet there's a bunch of sexy British guys in it, though."

"Oh is that what you're looking for? A sexy British guy?"

"Well I already found him. I'm just using you until he comes around," Pam playfully teased. At this, Jim felt a little uncomfortable. It reminded him of the situation with Karen and how he treated her. His face fell a bit and Pam quickly caught on. There was yet another awkward silence between them.

"I'm sorry, Jim. I didn't mean to..."

"Don't worry about it. Let's go watch the movie." They both forced a smile and walked in.

As they exited the theater a couple hours later, all memories of the awkward silence were gone. They were now laughing and giggling.

“You are such a wimp, Beesley!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I can barely feel my forearm now.

“I just wanted to be close to you.”

“Nice try. You totally owe me for the popcorn.”

Their banter stopped for a minute when they spotted a familiar face crossing their path. It was Creed Bratton. “Hey Creed,” Jim said in a surprised tone.

Creed stopped and looked at Jim. “You look familiar. Where do I know you from?”

“Yeah, we work together. For the last four years or so.”

“Oh right, you’re Halpert.” Then he turned his attention to Pam and ogled her for a few seconds. “Well I definitely don’t recognize this one. Very nice. Good work, Halpert.” Pam was getting uncomfortable, as she usually did around Creed.

“Um, she also works… you know what, never mind. We’re gonna get going. Enjoy the movie.”

“What movie?” Creed continued walking into the entrance of the theater. Jim and Pam decided it was best not to think about him anymore.

They arrived back at Jim’s place and walked to his front door. “Well, thank you for walking me to the door,” Jim playfully said.

“Well, it’s the least I could do. Plus, I need to get my flowers.”

“You always have an ulterior motive, Beesley,” Jim said. He paused for a second and gulped. “They’re inside, do you want to come in?”

Pam was too nervous. “Um, I probably shouldn’t.”

“Yeah, I mean that’s fine. I’ll be right back.”

Moments later, Jim came back with the two bouquets and gently set them down inside Pam’s car. He then pulled something out of his back pocket and handed it to Pam.

“What is this?” she excitedly asked.

“A Christmas card. From two years ago.”

“How come you never gave it to me?”

“I just chickened out. Go ahead and read it.”

Pam nervously opened the envelope and took the card out. As she began to read, she started laughing. Then she got to the end. What she read made her heart thump in her chest. She started to feel dizzy and was fighting back tears. She tried to muster up the appropriate response. “Me too,” was all she could say.

Jim wrapped her in a tight embrace, and they kissed more passionately than they ever had before.

“I’d like to change my answer,” Pam said as she came up for air.

Jim looked confused. “Answer to what?” Pam pointed to the door and Jim figured it out. He took her hand and walked her to the door. He held the door open, inviting her in. She grabbed his shirt and pulled him in with her. By the time they came out again, it was Sunday.

“I have an idea for a road trip.”

“Really, you want to actually go outside? Sure you don’t want to go back in there?” Pam pointed toward Jim’s bedroom.

“Well, I won’t lie. It’s been good in there. Very good.”

“Don’t forget the kitchen or the living room,” Pam seductively reminded him.

“Must get more rooms,” Jim said breathlessly. Pam laughed. “Still, I think it might be good to rejoin society.”

“Society bad. Jim goooooood.”

“OK, now you’re scaring me. I’m starting to think it’s like that scene in Ghostbusters.”

“There is no Pam. There is only Zhul,” Pam said in her best throaty possessed voice.

“Wow.”

It was several hours later, but they finally started the road trip. Jim was tight-lipped about where they were going, aggravating Pam to no end.

“Come on! You have to tell me.”

“Well, the torture will end now, because we’re here.” Jim parked the car next to a curb, but they were in a residential area. Pam was really confused. He walked around opened the door to her. As they made their way around some very large trees, Pam finally saw it.

“The terrace,” she gasped.

“Yeah, um, we can’t go inside or anything. I just wanted you to see it. I know, kind of lame.”

“Jim, it’s beautiful. How did you find this?” she said, trying to choke back tears.

“Well I was just driving through one day, and it reminded me of this picture drawn by a beautiful woman. Can’t remember her name, but she's awful at Sudoku.”

“Suck it, Halpert.” They both laughed. Pam beamed at the wonderful man standing next to her.

“Never give up on your dreams, Pam. You are smart, sexy, and hilarious. You can have anything you want.” For the first time in her life, she really believed that.

It had been several months since he left anger management, but Andy Bernard couldn’t escape the fact that everyone still thought he was crazy. He always tried to diffuse any tension in his conversations by adding a joke at the end, but it always just seemed to make people think he was even crazier. A chance to be the new #2 in the office was his ticket to regaining respectability in the office. All that faded away when Michael came back.

However, Andy couldn’t be bothered with any of that now. He was currently in the kitchen and could tell something wasn’t right. Big Haircut and Karen were standing on either side of him, and there was clearly some tension in the air. Andy’s mind raced, wondering what could be wrong. Big Haircut better not have done something to hurt his Stamford comrade. If so, he would have to bust a cap in his butt!

“Totally kidding”, Andy blurted out, forgetting that the previous outburst had been all in his head. Both Jim and Karen looked at him, more annoyed than confused. “Sorry about that. I was just, you know, something in my head.” Jim thought about checking to make sure Andy wasn’t holding any sharp utensils. “You guys obviously have something to talk about. I’ll get out of your hair. Not that I would do anything to your hair…,” and Andy decided to stop himself there. He ventured out of the kitchen and back to his desk, trying not to accidentally threaten anyone’s life on the way.

Jim and Karen just stood there, no more barriers for what was bound to be an awkward conversation. Neither of them could think of what to say.

“What are you talking about? You left the interview?” Karen asked incredulously.

“He asked me where I saw myself in 10 years,” Jim replied. “And it wasn’t here. Not in New York. Not…”

“Not with me?” Karen asked. Emotion began to fill her heart, but she couldn’t yet tell whether it was anger or sadness. Maybe it was relief. Jim had nothing to say. He just dropped his head, which she took as an obvious answer to her question. “You should go then.”

“What do you mean? How will you get back?”

“Don’t worry about me. You have someone else to worry about now,” Karen said as she tried to remain calm. “You two are seriously pathetic.” This comment definitely took Jim by surprise. “If you care about each other, then just be honest and admit it. Quit dancing around it. Quit hurting other people. Roy didn’t deserve that. I don’t deserve that.”

“I’m sorry, Karen.”

She could tell that he genuinely was sorry, but she no longer cared. “Just go.”

It was Jim that finally broke the silence. “Do you want to talk?”

“Talk about what?” Karen sharply replied. She was not interested in where this was going.

“I don’t know. I just thought….”

“Thought what? We could be friends? Forget it, Halpert. I’ve seen how you treat your friends when you’re in a relationship.”

“Come on, Karen.”

“Look, Jim. Just let it go. It’s hard enough as it is. I promise I won’t get in your way.” With that Karen left him standing there and went back to her desk.

Pam’s day wasn’t going much better. She had received numerous calls from people having trouble getting through to customer service. Pam had been transferring them, but the same person would call back and say they just got voicemail. The frequent calls were starting to try on Pam’s nerves, so she decided to walk back to the annex to see why Kelly wasn’t answering the phone.

Kelly just sat there, staring at the phone. She wasn’t her usual giddy self, which was expected after her breakup with Ryan. What surprised Pam was Kelly’s completely blank face. She didn’t look sad or happy. She was just sitting there. “Kelly, are you alright?”

“Oh, hi Pam. Yeah, I’m fine. Why do you ask?” Kelly said in an even tone.

“You just don’t seem like your usual self. And you’re not answering the phones.”

“Oh yeah that. Well I just don’t feel like it today.”

“Look, you’re better off without him. He didn’t treat you the way you deserved to be treated.”

“Wait a second.” Kelly eyed Pam suspiciously. “You look different. What did you change?”

“Nothing,” Pam replied nervously.

“You got a boyfriend, didn’t you?” Kelly’s mood was suddenly starting to change back to her old ways. “Didn’t you? Didn’t you?! Didn’t you?!!”

“Shhh, I can’t talk about it here. Follow me to the break room.”

They walked to the break room, Kelly skipping behind Pam, barely able to contain her excitement. When they got there, Pam fixed Kelly with a serious stare. “Okay, you have to promise that you will not tell another soul.”

“How come? Is it a secret romance?” Kelly was now positively giddy.

“No, it’s not a secret. It could just be awkward…for other people if it’s advertised.”

“Oh my god, it’s someone here!!! It’s Jim, isn’t it?!!!”

Pam was now blushing. “Yes, but remember you promised to keep it quiet.

He just broke up with Karen and I don’t want her to feel uncomfortable.”

“Awwwww, he broke up with Karen for you. That is SO sweet! You guys are so perfect for each other. Like TomKat or Brangelina! You’re Jam!!”

Kelly fell into a fit of giggles.

“Didn’t you say the other day…Actually, don’t worry about it. So you’re okay now, right?”

“Of course. You were probably right. Ryan was a jerk. Maybe I should try girls for a while. Hey, you’re cute. Maybe we should go out?”

“Yeah, I’m with Jim. Remember?”

“Threesome?” Kelly asked hopefully.

With that, Pam stood straight up. “Uh, I should get back to work, but I’m glad you’re feeling better.”

“Totally.” Kelly actually was in a good mood, for the first time since Thursday.

Things eventually calmed down for Jim and Pam, and he was able to make his way over to her desk.  “Hey,” Jim said.

“Hi,” Pam replied.

There were huge smiles on both of their faces. They hadn’t much of a chance to talk today, but those two words made everything better. Karen looked over and saw them obviously having a good time. She got up from her desk and walked away, but neither of them noticed. Suddenly, Pam got a mischievous look on her face.

“Hey, I forgot to tell you. Kelly wanted to talk to you. Something about a service problem with one of your clients.”

“Oh, you’re putting me to work, Beesley?”

“Absolutely, now snap to it!” She lightly punched him in the shoulder.

“Oh, when I get back, you are so going to pay for that.”

“Can’t wait!”

Jim made his way over to Kelly’s desk. “Hey Kelly. Pam said you needed to talk to me about something?”

Kelly suddenly looked terrified. “Oh my god. What did you she tell you?” Jim tried to respond, but couldn’t get a word in edgewise. “Because you know, I was just kidding. I swear!”

“What are you talking about?” a bewildered Jim asked.

He never got an answer because Kelly got up and ran to the bathroom. On her way there, she ran into Andy. When she saw who it was, she screamed and hurried into the ladies room.

“What did I do now?!!” Andy exclaimed. “I was just standing here!”

Jim made his way back to Pam’s desk. “Are you happy?” Pam couldn’t respond because she was too busy laughing. The laughing eventually subsided when Pam saw something that concerned her. Jim noticed this and turned to look at what was bothering Pam. He saw Karen and Toby exiting the conference room. Jim and Pam shared a concerned glance and then went back to work. That was the end of fun for the day.

Angela Martin had an ominous feeling as she walked to her car late at night. She didn’t know why she was leaving the office so late, and walking all alone by herself. Being that she was a 90-pound female who worked for a company with a propensity to hire ex-cons, this wasn’t the smartest move. Stupid Angela, you know better than that.

Suddenly she heard voices and footsteps. Her heart was pounding now, realizing that in the pitch-black night someone could be coming after her from any direction. Angela tried to quicken her pace to the car, but her legs didn’t seem to have any strength. Every time she tried to speed up, it only seemed to make her slower. The sounds kept increasing. "Is someone there?" she said, shaking with every word.

"Is everything alright?" a familiar voice said from the shadows.

When he eventually came into view, Angela saw her beautiful, wonderful savior. He was her knight in shining armor. He would rescue her and hold her tight and keep her safe forever. "I just heard some voices and footsteps. I’m such a little woman, I didn’t know what to do," Angela replied. She couldn’t understand why, but her voice seemed to sound much higher than usual.

"Well, I’m here now," he said seductively.

"Thank you, Roy," she replied.

"In fact, I can give you a ride home or to my…," but his voice trailed off.

"To your what?" Angela cried out.

"Monkey," she heard another familiar voice say, but tried to ignore it.
"Mooooonkey."

When she opened her eyes, she saw it was Dwight standing over her. She bolted out of bed, feeling a little guilty, as if maybe he heard parts of her dream. “What time is it?”

“6:30 AM,” Dwight pronounced in that officious manner which usually turned her on, but was a bit much this early in the morning. “And calculating the time it takes for the female species to get ready, travel time to your apartment and then to work, and accounting for any potential beet catastrophes, we should make it to work right on time.”

“Thank you, Dwight.“ Satisfied that Dwight hadn’t figured out her dream, Angela began to get ready for work.

“Question,” Dwight proclaimed. “When do I get to reveal that Jim and Pam were kissing after hours?”

“Not now, Dwight. Pam was very honorable in not revealing our relationship. It would not be right for us to do the same, unless we had a reason of course.”

“What about the fact that he wastes company time with childish pranks that reduce my efficiency and undermine the entire fabric of Dunder-Mifflin?” Dwight protested.

“No, but I will talk to Pam about that today,” turning her evil grin up to the highest setting. “We’ll see just how honorable she can be.”

“Fine, but can I at least return this today?” Dwight asked as he held up a warehouse shirt. “This is inappropriate use of company property.”

Angela sighed. “Fine, but if your cookies don’t … taste quite as good from now on, don’t blame me.”

In what was seemingly a very different universe, Jim and Pam were also getting ready for work. It had been one week since their first date and already they seemed to have fallen into a regular couples routine. They took turns staying at each other’s apartments, perfected the timing of their morning hygiene rituals, and always managed to save enough time for a quick romp in the sack before work. This started to bother Pam just a little bit. Deep down, she missed the excitement of their first few dates.

“Do you think things are becoming a little too casual between us?”

“What do you mean?” Jim casually replied.

“Don’t get me wrong, Jim. I’m very happy. I promise. It’s just that it almost seemed more exciting when things were still awkward.”

“Oh, you want me to do awkward? Because I can still do awkward, Beesley. I perfected it for 3 years.”

Pam laughed. “No. I just mean it seems like we have this standard rhythm now.”

“But isn’t rhythm good?” Jim said. Then he put on his playful face. “Or are you afraid the rhythm is gonna get you?” Jim continued by singing, “Rhythm is gonna getcha! Rhythm is gonna getcha! Rhythm is gonna get you tonight!”

Pam was giggling uncontrollably now. “You are such a dork. I love you, Jim Halpert.” At that, they both paused for a minute, realizing what Pam just said. “Is that the first time I said that?”

“I believe so, and it was only a year after I said it, so good turnaround time,” Jim said, grinning from ear to ear. “Although you did make some sounds last night that could be interpreted as the same thing.”

“Leave it to you to take a special moment and turn it into a joke.”

“Isn’t that what you love about me?”

“No, what I love about you is that you buy me wonderful gifts. Like this digital voice recorder,” Pam said with a mischievous grin spreading across her face. She pressed play and Jim was horrified to hear his own voice singing from a few moments earlier. “Suck on that, Halpert.”

“Beesley, you’re gonna erase that, right?” as he tried to grab the recorder.

Pam backed away from his reach and started giggling again. “In fact, I think I might play this for Andy and tell him you want to do a duet.”

“Oh no, you’re gonna get it now,” Jim said and he began chasing her around the apartment. He eventually caught up to her on the couch, where he started tickling her.

“Uncle! Uncle!” Pam shouted, and they both collapsed on the couch.

“Pam?”

“Yes?”

“I love you, too.” He then pulled her into a deep kiss, and they suddenly decided that being a few minutes late to work wouldn’t be so bad.

Angela saw Pam arrive and immediately walked over to her. “You’re late,” Angela said.

“Um, yeah, sorry about that. Wait, why do you care if I’m late?” Pam asked.

“It is unprofessional behavior,” Angela sharply replied.

“Is there something I can help you with Angela?” Pam asked wearily.

“Well I just wanted to let you know that I haven’t told anyone.”

“Told anyone what?”

“You know, about you … and Jack?” Angela replied, annoyed that Pam was playing dumb. “You were very nice to Noelle and Kurt, so she has told Kurt not to say anything.”

“Oh, thank you,” Pam replied, not knowing what to make of this. She was sure Angela had some ulterior motive.

“I just have one request,” Angela said. “Tell Jack to stop playing pranks on Kurt.”

“I can’t tell him what to do, Angela,” Pam said sincerely.

“Please. He gave up a corporate job for you, ditched his very attractive significant other in New York, and spent the last three years glued to your desk. That man will do anything for you. Don’t be stupid.” With that, Angela walked away triumphantly.

Pam thought about that for a few minutes, then composed an e-mail to Angela:

We have a deal under one condition. Kurt cannot provoke Jack.

A few minutes later came Angela’s response:

Fine.

While this was going on, Jim’s day was getting off to a rough start. He got called into Michael’s office, always a precarious event. "You needed to see me?” Jim asked.

"Hey Jimbo! Come on in and sit down. Oh and shut the door, please." Jim didn’t like the sound of that, but he obliged. "I need my role play mastah here."

"Look Michael, I don’t mind helping you out, but I really don’t want to be Jan again," Jim said.

"No no, this isn’t about Jan. I got her a prescription for something. I don’t remember what it was, but she should be sleeping right now."

"Oh," Jim muttered, wishing he hadn’t heard that.

"Ryan is making his first visit to the branch next week as my boss, so I want to be prepared. I want you to play Ryan, and explain why you betrayed me."

"Yeah, that won’t be awkward," Jim whispered to himself.

“OK, hold on while I warm up.” Michael went through a series of meditative exercises that were so bizarre Jim almost though his boss was having a seizure. “Now I’m ready. Ryan, why did you betray me?”

“Uhhh, I didn‘t betray you. I just applied for a better job that paid more money.”

Michael was clearly not pleased with this response. “Come on, Jim. You really think Ryan would say that? You can do better than that. Let’s try it again. Ryan, why did you betray me?”

Jim shrugged and decided to make the best of it. “Because I’m awesome and above everyone that works here, even though I can’t make a sale or treat my girlfriend right.”

“That’s brilliant!” Michael said with awe. “Excellent. Now we’re off to a good start.”

“Start?” Jim replied helplessly.

It would be another hour before Jim could escape Michael’s office. He immediately went to Pam’s desk for some relief. “What’s Jan up to now?” Pam asked.

“Actually, this one was about Ryan.”

“I have a huge favor to ask you,” Pam said.

“Whatever you want, Beesley.”

“I need you to stop playing pranks on Dwight.”

“What?” a confused Jim replied.

“Well, it was Angela’s request. I guess I should have told you this sooner, but she and Dwight are together.”

“Oh yeah, I knew about that.”

“What? And you didn’t tell me?”

“Well you didn’t tell me, so suck it,” he said playfully.

She smiled. “That’s my phrase.”

“So we’re really gonna let her blackmail us?”

“Well, I got her to promise that he wouldn’t provoke you. I think it’s best that we go along with this for now, at least until we know why Karen went to Toby.”

“Come on, you don’t think Toby would actually forward any complaints about us, do you?”

“Probably not, but it’s best to make sure.”

“Fair enough, but you owe me a grape soda,” he replied.

Pam made her way to the break room to grab said soda, where she ran into Karen. “Oh, hi,” Pam said cautiously. Karen acknowledged her, but didn’t reply. The tension was too much to bear, so Pam grabbed the soda and began to leave.

“Pam?” Karen asked before Pam could leave.

Pam stopped and turned around, a little worried where this might be going. “Yes?

Karen started to say something, but stopped. Then she changed her mind and began again. “I was just thinking that we should have a Party Planning meeting soon to discuss a Memorial Day party.”

“That’s a great idea,” a relieved Pam replied. “I’ll go tell Angela.” Pam walked away, satisfied that progress was being made and maybe it wouldn’t be so awkward at work much longer.

Back at his desk, Jim looked up at Dwight. “Hey Dwight.”

“Hello Jim,” Dwight replied evenly.

They both looked at each other for a few moments, realizing that neither could say nor do what they really wanted. Without anything else to do, they both went back to work. It would be one of the most productive days of Jim’s Dunder-Mifflin career.

Ryan Howard finally had what he wanted. Business school was over and he finally got that big promotion that he’d always dreamed about. No more creepy stares from Michael. No more fetching Michael’s coffee. No more clingy girlfriend not allowing him to breathe. Sure it had been a little hectic and stressful over the past few weeks, but certainly that would go away once he got settled into the job. The attitude at corporate was refreshingly professional. There weren’t the same kind of immature pranks like Jim used to pull, or the dismissiveness that
Stanley always got away with. People seemed to respect one another, at least enough to let them do their jobs.

Ryan was a little anxious today because tomorrow would be his first visit to the Scranton Branch since his promotion. He wasn’t sure how some people would take it. The conversation on the phone with Michael was bad enough. Now he was worried that he might have to yell at Michael for something, and he really didn’t want to deal with Michael crying. Again. As Ryan packed up for the day, he heard a knock on the door and saw David Wallace walk in.

“You all set for the big visit tomorrow?” Wallace asked.

Ryan had gotten along with his boss very well and was grateful that David had visited his office. “Yeah, it should be interesting.”

“Good. I wanted to let you know we’ve been impressed with the job you’ve done so far.”

“Wow. Thanks!” Praise was so much better when it wasn’t attached to a creepy man-crush.

“Yeah, and good luck on your trip. Let me know if you need any help. You’ve got my cell phone number, right?”

“Uh, yeah, I’m pretty sure I got it.” Ryan was starting to get a little uncomfortable, but then decided that maybe he was overreacting. David was just being friendly and helpful, right?

“Also, make sure you check with Kendall so you can get a quick briefing of approved travel expenses. And don’t worry if he gives you a hard time. Nobody around here really likes him.” That certainly surprised Ryan, who thought Kendall was one of the nicest people he’s ever met. All of this was starting to sound a bit too familiar for Ryan, and he quickly excused himself before he had to think about it anymore.

Ryan had acquired a tiny New York apartment that cost him much more than his much larger Scranton residence. It could’ve been worse, but he didn’t want to bother with anything fancy so soon. With things so busy at work, he hadn’t had much time to furnish it. He wouldn’t admit it, but the emptiness started to get to him. Despite finally achieving almost everything he wanted, something was missing. Against every instinct he had, Ryan picked up the phone. Dialing. Hanging Up. Dialing. Hanging Up. Dialing. Hanging Up. He never made it past the fifth digit. Finally he just unhooked the phone and left for the nearest bar.



The next morning Dunder Mifflin Scranton was preparing for Ryan’s arrival. Kelly had called in sick to work which didn’t surprise anyone. Jim was in Michael’s office once again, but this time it wasn’t for another role play session. They were actually discussing business for a change.

“Are you sure this is going to work?” Michael asked.

“Absolutely,” Jim replied with conviction.

“I don’t understand. He didn’t like my meetings when he was here. Why will this be different?”

“Because it will be professional and we’ll actually get work done.”

“My meetings are professional! They build morale!” Michael protested.

Jim knew he wasn’t going to be able to reason with Michael, so he tried a different approach. “Yeah, but see that’s good for us in here, but in that cold corporate world that Ryan just moved to, they don’t care about morale. It’s all about getting the job done above everything else.” Sometimes Jim was surprised at how much he actually believed the stuff he was making up.

“That’s a good point, Jimbo. Those idiots really don’t care about people. You know what, it’s good that we didn’t get that job.”

“Actually, I…you’re right. We’re better off,” Jim agreed, once again remembering to deal with Michael on his own level.

“Are you sure I can’t just sic Stanley on him?” Michael asked.

“That’s definitely a good backup plan,” Jim replied, causing Michael to laugh. Confident that Michael was now in the right frame of mind for the meeting, Jim managed to escape from the office, convincing Michael there was some urgent business, but not telling him that the urgent business was going to the reception desk just to see Pam’s smile.

“How’s Jan?” Pam asked.

“No, we actually talked business this time.” Pam looked surprised. “Seriously, we did.”

“Wow, good work. I’m impressed.”

“Are you impressed enough to change your mind about tonight?”

“Jim, I told you I made plans with some friends from my art class. Are you telling me you can’t survive one night without me?”

“Well, I’ll survive, but I don’t think our health plan will cover the psychiatrist needed to help me recover from the trauma.”

“Yeah, but at least your spontaneous dental hydroplosion will be covered.”

“And who can complain about that?” he said jokingly, but Pam could tell something was eating at him.

“Are you gonna be okay?” she said, slightly concerned.

He looked disappointed, but regrouped with a joke. “Yeah, I’ve actually been waiting for a chance to go get high with Creed.”

Pam smiled. “Ha ha. Very funny. Just don‘t try the pea soup.”

When Ryan arrived, Michael announced his presence with a flourish and he was greeted with applause from most of the office. Jim got up to shake his hand and others followed suit, congratulating him on the promotion. Ryan really appreciated the kindness everyone displayed, but was a little distracted because he didn’t see Kelly. Michael was trying his best, but all the attention Ryan was getting made him uncomfortable so he abruptly, but not unkindly, halted the festivities to get the meeting started.

Michael and Jim cooked up the idea to have each department do a presentation during the meeting. Everything went fairly well. Toby talked about his plan to make HR more approachable. Creed had a bar graph showing improvement in paper quality and error rates, although Jim had a feeling he completely made up the statistics. Meredith talked about new suppliers and a reduction in total shipping costs. Kevin got up to give the accounting presentation, but was constantly interrupted by Angela so Oscar told them both to shut up and he finished the report. Dwight gave the sales presentation, highlighting an increased sales revenue of 20% over the last month.

The meeting was about to wrap up when Kelly made a surprise appearance. She had tried her best to conceal it, but it was clear she had been crying recently. “Hello Ryan,” she said flatly as she walked up to do her own presentation. Ryan tried to respond, but he didn’t know what to say. Kelly outlined the plan she implemented two weeks ago to improve customer service response with a new backup customer service chart, which more efficiently directed calls to other employees in the case that Kelly was already on a call, out sick, or on lunch. It was a great presentation that reminded Ryan (and everyone else) how good she actually was at her job.

When the meeting was over, Ryan congratulated everyone on a successful meeting, noting that he was very excited about the improvements and would certainly pass that information on to the CFO. Before he left he had to navigate an awkward hug from Michael and then look for Kelly, but she wasn’t to be found. Meredith was handling customer service for the moment. With nothing left to do, Ryan said goodbye to everyone and headed back to New York, a little less excited than when he had made the same trip two weeks ago.



Jim hadn’t told Pam, but he knew exactly what he had planned to do after work. That afternoon, he was at the Everhart Museum, looking at several of the interesting exhibitions they had to offer, being especially impressed by the Abby Warman exhibit. There was really only one exhibit that he was interested in seeing, though. It was a collection in a small corner of the museum that not many people were paying much attention. He finally made his way there and was not disappointed at the beautiful work this artist had done.

“How did you know?” he heard a familiar voice say from behind. Jim turned around and saw Pam standing there with a guilty and sad expression on her face.

“Hey,” he said with a grin. He was a little mad that she lied to him, but he could never stand to see her upset. “I just, well let’s say you sometimes leave stuff lying around. Flyers. Brochures.”

“I’m sorry, Jim. It was just hard,” Pam said as she tried to fight back the tears. “I don’t know if you understand how much it hurt that you weren’t there for my last show.“

“I do understand, Pam. I understand that I was a jackass. I was upset that you were with Roy, but that’s not an excuse. You were my friend and I wasn’t there to support you.” Tears started welling up in Pam’s eyes. He walked closer to her and began wiping them away. “I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry, too. I should’ve told you. I should’ve trusted you.”

“Believe me I understand Pam,” he said sincerely. “Look, it’s been a great couple weeks, but there are some things that we’ve been ignoring. We‘ve been through so much together.“

“Yeah, we have a lot to talk about.”

“Yeah we do. Not right now, though. This is your art show and I’m here for you. So let’s see what the great Pamcasso has on display.” He wiped the remaining tears out of her eyes and kissed her.

Ryan was halfway through his trip home when something kept gnawing at him. He couldn’t believe it. He really was in love with Kelly. This realization made him so furious he hit the dashboard. Why did he love her? Why did it have to be this way? Everything was going so well. If he could just move on, he wouldn’t have to worry about this anymore. But as much as his head was telling him to move on, his heart told him something else. Ryan slammed his breaks in frustration. He then made a u-turn and headed back to Scranton.

Ryan walked up to Kelly’s apartment door. He almost knocked, but changed his mind. He kept repeating this over and over again, letting his nerves get the best of him. One time he almost made it all the way back to his car. Eventually, he decided to go through with it and knocked on the door. He was certainly shocked to see the man who opened it.

“Who is it?” he heard Kelly call from inside the apartment.

The man narrowed his eyes at Ryan and said, “It’s Big Turkey.”