“You were suppose to be here over an hour ago!” I yelled into my phone, which was barely audible over the pounding of electric music in the background. Currently I was sitting by myself at the crowded bar in the Vouyer Night Club in downtown Philly, where me and my sister, Isabel were suppose to be celebrating. Tomorrow I started my new office job which Isabel also referred it to as my death job.

            “I know Pammy, I’m so sorry!” she cried, as she fumbled the phone. “Jack’s baby sitter fell through, and he’s been crying none stop I just couldn’t call.” She explained. I sighed and looked up at the neon lights of the club, they were pulsing along with the music, switching colors repeatedly. Night clubs weren’t my thing at all but I was excited to celebrate my first weekend in Philly, and to see my sister. I even dressed up! I was wearing a pair of black wide legged slacks, paired with a white sick tank top, that had a very extravagant open back and white pumps. My makeup was even more over done than I usually would wear, and my curly red hair was pin straight down my back. Theoretically I was going to stay at my sisters tonight and I had my black blazer hanging in my car so I could get ready over there in the morning and leave. Between her demanding husband Steve and Jack I barely saw her, besides dinner at my parents so I’m not going to lie, I was looking forward to hanging out with my older sister tonight. “I’ll make it up to you Pam, I swear!” she said, before hanging up. I felt my shoulders slump as I looked down at my pink drink that I couldn’t even remember the name at this point.

            “Knock 'em dead, Pam.” I mumbled as I toasted myself, before sipping the frilly drink. It consisted of strawberries, vodka and sprite I believe. It wasn’t terrible.

            “Party of one?” a voice laughed in my ear. Glancing over my shoulder I noticed a tall scraggly gentleman take a seat next to me at the bar. He wasn’t dressed in exactly night club material as I was. He wore a pair of blue jeans, along with a dark blue button up, that he had rolled up to his elbows. His hair was a floppy brown that he had brushed neatly on top of his head, you could tell if he didn’t style it, it would flop into his eyes.

            “Wasn’t supposed to be, but I’ll live.” I replied as I took another sip. I wasn’t planning on getting drunk tonight, not with having work at eight am, but two or three drinks wouldn’t be so bad.

            “What are we celebrating?” my bar mate asked. Glancing over I noticed that he was just drinking beer, which wasn’t exactly a night club drink, he almost looked out-of-place. In reality, so was I, but tonight was suppose to be about celebrating, and dammit I'm going to have fun!

            “Got a new job,” I explained. “I just moved from Scranton.”

            “The electric city!” he cheered, and I couldn’t help but laugh. That was definitely the nickname of my city. I was going to miss Scranton, but I loved Philly. My family was here, there were more things to do, people my age. Not that it was going to make me do things with people my age. I always preferred a night at home drawing with a cup of tea. Like I said tonight was suppose to be about celebrating. “Traded it in for expensive drinks and bad driving?”

            “Pretty much.” I laughed and finished off my drink.

            “Well we better get to celebrating,” he said, before whistling to the bartender. “Two shots please!” He yelled over the obnoxious music.

            “Oh no,” I began, but I was still laughing. “I have work at eight!”

            “So do I!” he replied, as the bartender placed down two shots. I watched my bar mate push one my way with a wicked smile on his face. “We’ll be miserable together.” He declared, as he held up his little glass. Not even taking a moment to argue I grabbed my shot and clinked it against his before we both shot the clear liquid down our throats. The alcohol sent a tingle sensation down my spine causing me shiver and release an obnoxious laugh. “Woo!” my bar mate cheered as he slammed his glass down and washed his shot down with some beer. “Now we dance!” I watched as he grabbed me hand and pulled me off my bar stool, standing he was easily a foot taller than me, even in my white heals.

            “Oh you don’t want that,” I tugged on his hand as he began to pull me into the crowded dance floor.

            “Oh, I most certainly do!” he yelled over the bass. I held on tightly as he began to pull me deep into the crowded dance floor. I could feel my shoulders bumping into various people until he finally stopped, and I bumped into his chest. My head felt lighter than usual as I looked up at my bar mate. Usually I would never ever be I this situation with another man I was shy in that department.

            “I’m a horrible dancer!” I yelled, but my voice carried on into the echoing music. I watched as he rolled his eyes and used my hand to twirl me around. Dropping my hand, he rested both of his onto my waist where he began to make me bob back and forth to the music. After a few minutes of awkward swaying I finally closed my eyes and just got into the music. What ever was in that shot made me ease up, a lot. A few minutes into dancing, and the dance floor getting more crowded I found my back side pressed up against my bar mates. Grinding I believe is what is was called. I was enjoying myself too, the music, the alcohol l I felt like I was buzzing.

            Hours could of gone by at this point, the music was still pounding and we were still dancing. The dance floor was pretty fully still, I new it had to be closer to 1 am at this point. We returned to the bar twice where I ordered two shots at a time

            “Hey party animal,” my bar mate whispered in my ear, as I continued to dance against him. “Let’s get you some water.” He suggested, as he grabbed my hand. Spinning around I leaned myself against his chest and smiled. I easily was dancing with he hottest man in this room. Pam Beesly was dancing with the hottest man tonight.

            I wasn’t entirely sure where the courage came from but grabbing his collar I brought his head down to mine and smashed my lips against his. For a split moment I could feel him freeze before he pressed his mouth more firmly against mine. The taste was sweet, as our tequila and beer scented breathe mixed together.Twisting my fingers into his hair I melted against him, and began to depend on his strong arms to support me. His teeth gently bit down on my lower lip as I took a moment to gasp for air. He snuck his tongue in to mix with mine as his hands ran down the skin of my back. I felt my knees bucked as my head spun.

            “Whoa there,” he chucked while pulling me to lean against him. “How about we get you home?” He suggested while trying to ease me through the crows. That was like guiding a blind person through a cluttered room or whatever stupid metaphor you could think of. “Welp,” he grunted as he leaned down and swept me off my feet and into his arms. I let out an obnoxious laugh as I wrapped my arms around his large neck and took a deep breath of his cologne, God was he hot.

“You’re so hot!” I screamed over the music. I noticed the crooked smile on his face as he made his way to the exit, the two bouncers opened the door for him as her eased his way through the door and into the crisp Philly air.

            “Now where is your car?” my hot bar mate asked. Reaching into pants pocket I pulled out my keys and began jingling them loudly, before hitting my alarm on my fob. In the parking lot a white Volkswagen alarm began blaring. “Oh boy.” Placing me back on my feet, bar mate grabbed my keys and turned off the loud alarm.

            “Okidoki!” I cheered and reached for my keys only to miss them as he pulled them out of my reach.

            "No way!” he laughed and grabbed my hand. “You are way too drunk to drive.”

            “No,” I giggled and leaned into him again “You’re too drunk drive!” Bar mate began leading me towards the passenger side of my white Volkswagen Golf.

            “Nope,” he laughed and opened the door before gently pushing me inside. I fumbled with my seatbelt as he made his way around the car to the driver side. “Are you able to tell me where you live?”

            “The electric city!” I sang, while kicking my heals off.

            “No, here in Philly,” he said, while placing the car in reverse and pulling out of the night club parking lot. Leaning my head back my eyes began to droop as he began driving out of downtown.

            “Nope,” I said, popping the P with my lips. “Scranton Pennsylvania.” Turning on my side I couldn’t stop myself from over at my bar mate. He had the greatest features, which just seemed even better as drunk Pam. He had a strong jaw, which in my book was just about enough for me. Imagine what was under that shirt?

            “Alright, well guess you’re sleeping over.” he replied while rubbing the back of his neck.

            “You’re not going to kill me, are you?” I asked while squinting my eyes at him.

            “Never.” He laughed while he pulled onto the freeway. The smooth ride of the freeway made it easy for me to close my eyes and slip into a short nap. The nap felt like hours when we finally came to a halt. Opening my eyes, I was genuinely confused as to where the hell I was. “Easy there tiger.” My bar mates voice was low and husky as I stared out the window. I watched as he pulled into a long driveway of a giant gorgeous home.

            “Holy shit.” I mumbled while trying to sit up. “This place is huge!” My white car came to a stop in front of the grey bricked house. I didn’t even know they made homes out of bricks anymore. Stumbling out of the passenger side I made my way around the car and up the bricked steps. In front of the home was a gorgeous garden, multiple colored roses on either side. “Hold on slick.” Looking back over my shoulder I watched as my stranger friend made his way up the steps with my black blazer and night back over one shoulder and my white heels in his hand.

            “You live here?!” I asked, astonished.

            “Well let’s see,” he said, and stuck a key in the door handle before turning it and pushing it open. “Looks like I do.” Without an invite I made my way into the large home, flipping on light switches on my way. This house was beautiful, amazing hard wood floors in the foyer that led to was gran staircase. Off to the right looked like a loft, or library of sorts. I noticed bookshelves on every side of the wall. Off to the left lead to the kitchen where I headed. The size of this kitchen was crazy, the island alone was bigger than my apartment. I noticed the dark granite on top of dark oak, it was very pretty, and super clean. Pretty sure you could see your reflection.

            Exiting the kitchen, I saw my stranger friend hang my blazer up on the closet and place my white heels outside of the door. Not stopping I began to journey up stairs to the bedrooms I assumed.

            “Nosey one, aren’t you?” he asked, and began to follow me. At the end of the hallway were a pair of French doors which of course caught my attention. Pushing them open I walked into the biggest master bedroom I have ever seen. In the middle of the room was a ginormous bed, it was covered in satin sheets of course. “The bathroom is through the doors, if you’d like a bath or shower.” Ignoring him I made my way to the bed and climbed up onto the middle. The sheets were nice and cold as I laid back and stretched out.

            “And if I want you?”

Chapter 2 

Jim’s POV

Holy shit was this girl beautiful. And she’s on my bed. Wanting to have sex with me! Yes I have money, no I’m not ugly but I’m not lucky either, this would be a first for sex here in my home. My cock twitched at the idea of having sex with this beautiful girl who’s name I didn’t even know. This couldn’t be a good idea.

“Don’t you have a big day tomorrow?” I blurted out awkwardly. Smooth Halpert. Real smooth. With a loud laugh, my nameless friend rolled on to her stomach leaving her perfectly round bottom in the air. Jesus.

“So why aren’t we celebrating?” She mumbled into my pillow as she shakes her ass.

“Don’t you want some sleep?” I suggested while darting my eyes around my bedroom. Who knew at 26 I’d be my own cock block. But I wasn’t a huge fan of meaningless sex, never really had it actually. So how in the world did I get here. I had three hours and forty minutes to have learned her name and I didn’t. 

“Come on!” She laughed as she pushed herself back up into a sitting position. Her hair fell around her shoulders making her look even more gorgeous. “I’m sure you’ve had plenty of girls here!” She reached out pushing my lower abdomen, I ignore the feeling it pumped through me. 

“No,” I admitted. “This is definitely a first for me.” A devilish smile played on her lips as she slowly got to her feet. 

“Then lets make it good.” In one quick motion she pulled her silk white blouse over her head leaving it on a heap on the floor.Oh my god was she something. She wasn’t wearing a bra, which she clearly didn’t needs since her breast were perfectly perky and just beautiful. Clutching my fist I resisted the urge to close my lips around one of her plump pink nipples. I watched her in awe as she slowly zipped down the side of her black slacks, before they fell around her feet. Only thing left on her was her white laced panties, the look of her alone almost unmanned me.

“Come on,” she urges as she reaches up to press her chest against mine. She began a trail of soft kisses along my jaw and down my neck while he small hands worked at the buttons of my shirt. Say Something Halbert! Or enjoy it. As she nipped my throat with her teeth my head involuntarily rocked back as I let a moan escape my lips. I didn’t think I could last another second of this. When was the last time I had sex? When did Karen and I break up? Four- five months ago? My shirt fell to the floor as her mouth planted sucking kisses along my collarbone and her hands edged down her underwear. My brain was falling apart, going back and forth between the pros and cons of meaningless sex. My throbbing cock was making a great argument as I could feel her shimmy her panties down before she kicked them behind her. The feeling of her tongue running over the vein in my neck was the white flag for me.

“Fuck it.” I breathed as I gripped the back of her neck angling her lips to mine. This kiss was more aggressive than earlier, I wouldn’t even call it kissing. More like devouring. Our tongues were fighting for ownership. With my hands on her hips I pushed her down on to the bed, taking amount to mentally thank myself for purchasing these Egyptian Cotton sheets. My lips moved along her jaw before traveling along the side of her jaw, as I listened to the sound of her panting. Her fingers brushed through my hair as I made my way along her collarbone. Her skin was just perfect, it glowed and sparkled. Or maybe that’s the beer. Right before I was about to enclose my lips around her harden nipples I felt her hands fall slack on the bed, dead like. Snapping my head up I noticed her mouth was slightly open as small snores breathed through her lips. Wow Halpert, don’t you know how to put the ladies to sleep. Hanging my head in the crook of her neck I let out a small laugh before I carefully got off of her. 

It definitely was a sight to see. She was still beautiful as she slightly drooled into my pillow. Scratching the back of my head I started getting her tucked into bed, thankful that she slept like the dead. I managed to scoot her over to the left side of the bed where I tucked her under the sheets. Her peaceful snores continued on. Thankfully with some deep breaths and patience my hard on subsided as I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth and get ready for another day. After rinsing my mouth and splashing some water on my face I headed back to bed, where my lovely drunk and handsy friend continued to lay. Quietly climbing in, it didn’t take long till I dozed off.

“Fuck,” I groaned as I hit snooze on my alarm for the eighth time. Why the hell did I go out on a Sunday? To get your horny ass laid. Which reminded me that there was a beautiful girl in my bed, but when I looked over the spot was empty and cold. I really shouldn’t be surprised, these things don’t really call for breakfast the next day. With one more groan I hauled myself out of bed and towards my bathroom. I’ve only recently purchased this house, about six months after the sponsorship with Converse, I upgraded from the small 600 square foot apartment in downtown to this beautiful original 1895 built, 12,00 square feet home. My mother was absolutely in love with it, so was my father. But nine bedrooms and seven bedroom its get’s extremely lonely. So I find myself hanging around work as long as possible, or finding reasons to visit my parents in New York. I relaxed as best as I could in the marble tile shower with an over head faucet. The architects really get to you with the add ons, but they really are worth it.

Leaving the shower I began the morning routine of styling my crazy hair and touching up my growing beard. With November around the corner I’m sure the company will be participating in a no shave. Lumberjack Jim will be my nick name in those coming months. Reaching for my toothpaste and toothbrush I noticed that they have moved and recently been used. I couldn’t help but smile at the though of her rushing around to get a little presentable before leaving. I hoped her first day went well. Once I was done I exited the steamy bathroom to cross over to my closet of too many clothes. 

Standing there I picked the first monkey suit I came across. I controlled what I and the company wore but I wasn’t going to deny that a nice suit didn’t look bad on anyone. I preferred jeans and simple Philly’s tee but the suits make the bucks. The suit of choice was a deep blue Ralph Loren paired with freshly ironed white shirt, and a light blue abstract tie, that I finished off with my Allen Edomas dress shoes. My mother actually went with a personal stylist and choice all of the suits and shit in my closet because truthfully I was incapable. When Darryl Philbin- my college buddy and best friend started Athlead eight years ago were never expected it to get this big. It started as a small sports marketing out of my tiny apartment downtown, but the last five years have just boomed. Once we brought on ESPN everyone wanted in, Players, Coaches, Retired Players, Nike, Converse, Adidas. With me as President and CEO, Darryl as COO and Owner, and our other college buddy Andy Bernard as VP the company just thrived.

Finishing off with some ridiculous cologne my mother bought me and one last swipe of the hair I began to head down stairs. I stopped quickly in my tracks when I caught sight of a pair of white panties tossed over the back of the chair. I couldn’t stop myself from laughing at the tough of how frustrated she must have been this morning. Without even thinking about it I grabbed them and placed them in my pocket before heading down stairs to the kitchen. I noticed she manage to grab everything else that I left in the foyer for her. I crossed over to the other side of the kitchen to make a quick cup of coffee along with a bagel. Just as I was stirring in some creamer, my phone began ringing.

“Halpert.” I replied as I closed my coffee mug and took a bite out of my bagel.

“Hey, where are you?” Darryl asked in a rush.

“Morning to you too, sunshine.” I laughed with a mouth full of bagel. 

“Dude, your assistant started today.” He reminded me, 

“Fuck,” I groaned while finishing my breakfast and heading to my garage. Shrugging on my black coat I grabbed my book back and keys before slipping through the garage door. “Yeah, I kind of had a rough night.”

“What’s rough?” He asked, as I got into my way to fancy of a car. I rode my 99 Subaru Impreza but she was finally laid to rest last summer and I found myself in a new sleek, black Audi Q7 which my brothers Tom and Pete helped me chose. Referring to it as a ‘chick magnet’.

“Well I was about to have sex with this beautiful women and she fell asleep,” I admitted as I pulled out of my garage and onto the quiet neighborhood street. My neighborhood most consited of old retired couples with millions of grandchildren that visit every holiday. I ignored the slight annoyance I felt when Darryl laughed at my not real close to victory last night. 

“Well did you get a name or number?” 

“You see that is also the problem, I had no clue who she was.” I explained.

“Wow, that’s a new one Halpert.” Darryl chuckled.

“Hows the assistant?” I asked, while ignoring random pings of my phone, emails probably for a Monday.

“Gorgeous,” he said, everyone was gorgeous in Darryl's book. “Why do you get a hot assistant?”

“Because Justine doesn’t like it when you travel.” I replied with an eye roll. Darryl and his wife were the typical high school romance couple, that have been through it all together. She wasn’t a huge fan of all the traveling, which I didn’t blame her but that did put extra tasks on me. “I didn’t ask for her to be gorgeous.”

“You’ve always been lucky with the women Jim.”

“Not according to last night.” I jabbed at myself, and couldn’t help but laugh as well. It was pretty funny when you think about it in a really depressing way. “I’m about five minutes away, just have Kelly get her set up with a badge and her desk and I’ll be there soon.”

“Alright, boss.” Darryl hung up the phone just as I turned down the street leading to Athlead. 

Our decision to build Athlead it’s own building wasn’t too difficult with my brother Tom being an architect he really helped with most of the steps. We went for a modern, three story building. All the way around were ceiling to floor windows, which I read somewhere improved the work place environment so why not. Covered parking wasn’t a huge need but it became handy once we decided we wanted to go green and placed the solar panels up there. Our building was broken up into three floors. The lobby and show room was the first floor, where we held company meetings, visitors and potential clients came to check everything out. It made up of tv’s, marketing posters, signed memorabilia all kinds of things me, Darryl and Andy have collected over the years. 

The second floor was reserved for the core of Athlead, sales, accounting, human resources, and customer service. Personally Darryl and I have recruited each and everyone one of them on that floor, from a previous job at a paper company that we had to keep afloat while we were building Athlead. We brought three members of sales along, Dwight Shrute a very interesting character to the team was easily the best salesmen there and my closest friend. Then there was Clark, who started off as a intern that turned into a very good people’s person. He hold’s onto our Dallas accounts and they just love him. The last one was a bit awkward my ex-girlfriend Karen Filippelli, outstanding saleswomen, difficult girlfriend not going to lie or go into detail about. 

Accounting began with Kevin Malone, who you had to meet in person to understand his personality. He is actually the reason we got new hard wood floor installed after he spilt a giant pot of chili on the carpet, I found this out of course after he scrapped it back into the pot and continued to serve it to everyone. Sadly it was very good chili. Oscar Martinez was my main man on all travel expenses and balancing receipts, he came to the company with perfect timing of quitting his old job after the boss there outed him as being gay. Then there was Angela Martin, the most uptight, judgmental bitch I have ever meat, who I adore dearly because she Dwight's fiance. Last on the crew was Toby Flenderson, who wasn’t my first choice of HR representatives but it was a necessity and he was just kind of there? Customer services was held down by Kelly Kapoor, who surprisingly really rocked it. She will talk you into your own grave about celebrities and their babies but she does a really good job none the less.

Pulling into my titles spot I quickly got out of the car with my bag over my shoulder and coffee in hand ready for the day. Entering into the lobby your greeted by Ryan Howard our receptionist. He wasn’t really our choice of placing here, it was the temp agencies. But he liked sports and knows how to answer phones.

“Good Morning, Jim.” He said as I walked along the black linoleum floor. I noticed a few scuff marks and took a personal note to talk to Tom about some more presentable looking flooring. “Darryl has your new assistant getting her picture taken with Kelly.”

“Awesome, thanks Ryan.” I replied while loading onto the elevator, where I scanned my badge and pressed level three. After everything with the Google fiasco the employees felt more comfortable that guest need badges in order to get around. Which is that expenditure kept them happy by all means. 

The doors opened revealing the executive floor, which were mine, Darryl and Andy’s office, along with my new assistants desk next to mine. In the middle were various places to sit along with a coffee/espresso station. (Andy’s idea, of course) We kept with the open concept and all three offices had ceiling to floor windows that peered into our offices. Andy’s just oozed Cornell, while Darryl's was mostly college basketball. Mine was a wreck, papers everywhere, business files, sports posters, money, books. I am a slob. Not gonna lie. That is why I need an assistant! Heading into my office I placed my book back down and coat in a guest chair before sitting behind my desk and raving up my Mac. We did a company switch from PC to Mac about a year ago when Apple hopped on board wanting to compete with Windows and their tablets the are used by various teams in the NFL. I quickly began scanning through my emails that started my morning while chugging down the rest of coffee before Darryl and my assistant would arrive but soon I could hear the ding of the elevator.

“And this is where you’ll be sitting.” I could hear Darryl’s voice echo. 

“Oh,” I heard the assistant reply. “Is this not a receptionist position?” 

“Uh, more of an executive assistant.” Darryl replied. “I’ll ahem Jim explain that.” Darryl was never really a man of many words, especially with people he didn’t know. Getting to my feet I circled around my desk towards the door where the assistant and Darryl were standing but I stopped dead in my tracks when I got a look go her. She definitely was gorgeous, like Darryl said. But I already knew that because she was in my bed less than three hours ago.

“There he is!” Darryl laughed, while giving me nod. “Hey man, this is Pam.” I watched frozen as Pam, who was once my unconscious almost one night stand now my personal assistant swing her hair over her shoulder as she looked my way. How was it even possible that she looked even more beautiful than before, even wearing the same clothes form last night! Except she had a black fitted blazer thrown on, it added a nice professional touch. I was beginning to open my mouth but she beat me to the punch.

“Holy shit.”

Chapter 3

“Holy shit”

Jim was bar guy from last night! Tall, handsome, sexy bar guy. This was the same freaking guy I woke up next to in bed… naked. He didn’t hardly look real this morning, the way he laid on his back with his mouth slacked open and the bed sheets wrapped low around his waist, he was almost too good to leave. I, on the other hand, woke up with a raging headache, running makeup, and knotted hair.  I also couldn’t find my damn underwear, oh... and, I used his toothbrush. Good choices, Beesly.

The bigger problem at hand was that I had slept with my boss. He stood before me looking even more handsome than last night. His hair was more smoothed down and styled, and I could tell his suit was recently dry-cleaned. I noticed he trimmed around the edges of his beard. His suit and shoes alone had to have cost more than my car. And, of course, I was too busy looking him over to realize that my mouth was hanging open. Was he gonna even recognize me? I almost hope he didn't so I wouldn't get fired. Is it a fireable offense to sleep with your boss prior to him being your boss? Oh god what if it was lously and he’s just gonna laugh at me? And I just became the new assistant who was terrible in bed with her boss. Locker room talk -or break room talk in this matter- just a terrible joke at the end of the day.

“Jim.” he said through tight lips. Oh great, he recognizes me. I watched as my new (too sexy for anyone’s good) boss introduced himself as he extended his hand out to me. Finally managing to close my gaping mouth I stumbled forward to grab his large hand, watching as it engulfed mine. “Jim Halpert.”

“Pam,” I almost whispered, too overcome with shock to raise my voice. “Pam Beesly.”

“About damn time Tuna!” Someone bellowed behind me, almost making me jump out of my skin. Turning around I watched as a third gentlemen joined the group. He wasn’t too badly put together either, his clothes were a little more on the brighter side, pastels and a lot of stripes. His hair was styled similarly to Jim, just less wild.

“Well howdy do you do, m’lady,” he said, while grabbing my hand and kissing my knuckles. I could feel my ears burning, not sure if by embarrassment or uncomfortableness. It was a very cliche but cute gesture. “Andrew Bernard, Cornell Grad, sure you’ve heard of it,” he said, confidently while flashing me a wink. Oh god. Don’t laugh Beesly. “Welcome aboard Miss Pamela.” I gave him the best smile I could muster before looking back over to Jim, whose eyes seemed glued to the floor.

“Well,” Darryl said, after an awkward cough that broke the silence. “Kelly will be up here in about twenty minutes with your badge, and she’ll get you all squared away on your computer. More silence ensued until Darryl nudged Jim roughly in the arm.

“Yeah! Pam, uh, why don’t you come into my office,” Jim forced out. “And we'll go over the agenda for the week.”

“Thank you for the tour Darryl,” I replied, as I nodded to him and Andy before awkwardly following behind Jim into his office.

His office immediately explained why there was a need for a personal assistant. There was enough paper, files and coffee cups for a personal forest. He was a CEO slob, I’m sure there was somehow a system in this office, but it definitely needed help and change. But that was my second priority, my first being the giant elephant in the room... dealing with the fact that I slept with my boss. I placed my bag in a clean chair before taking a seat and looking up at Jim as he walked around his cluttered desk to his chair.

“Well,” Jim began, slowly.

“How many employees stay on after sleeping with their boss?” I suddenly blurted, taken back by my sudden abrasiveness. Maybe I’m still drunk. “I just don’t get how out of all the guys in Philly, it had to be you, less than twelve hours before my first day. I’ve never even done anything like that before, ever!”

“Well, first off,” Jim began, slowly a small smile on playing on his lips. “We didn’t sleep together.”

“You don’t have to pull that we’re gonna pretend nothing happened crap.”

“No honestly,” he pressed, before continuing. “Before anything could transpire, you fell asleep.” He almost muttered. Hold on was he embarrassed too? I felt myself boiling again, this time it was definitely embarrassment.

“You’re joking, right?” I questioned him. Not sure which was worse, sleeping with him or falling asleep on him.

“I wish I was,” he admitted. “You were pretty tired though, you have this light snore that you do.”

“Oh my god.” I groaned as I dropped my head into my hands.

“Seriously, no harm done.” He laughed.

“I used your toothbrush.” I grumbled into my hands and I could hear his chuckle.

“Well that’s good, I was beginning to think my house was haunted.” He joked and I couldn’t help but chuckle as a weight lifted off my shoulders.

“Well, thank you for the ride home and a place to sleep.” I said, as I raised my head and looked over the room once more. “To save me from any more embarrassment, Darryl mentioned this was more of an executive assistant job?”

“Yeah, as you can tell I’m desperately in need of help.” He explained, “Darryl isn’t up for traveling since he got married, so I took on his out of state clients.”

“Wouldn’t that be more of a hire on for that work?”

“It’s not so much the handle of the clients, just keeping organized.” He admitted. “Keep together my meetings, calls, traveling-“

“There’s traveling?” I interrupted.

“Unless that’s a problem?” He asked. It was the opposite actually, I really enjoyed traveling. I’ve only been to New York and Pennsylvania.

“Oh, not all.” I replied quickly.

“Awesome,” Jim smiled just before there was a knock on the door. “Come in,” he began but the door was already swinging open as a young Indian women let herself in.

“Oh my god, hi!” She cheered as she skipped over to me. “I’m Kelly! I work in customer service, here's your badge.” She handed me a lanyard with a white badge on the end, reading Executive Assistant. “So if you ever need anything my desk is always open!” She managed to say all in one breath before skipping back out the door.

“Wow.” I said, while pulling the lanyard around my neck.

“She’ll talk you into the ground if you let her,” he laughed.  “So I guess you should go get settled and we’ll worry about the bigger things later.” He said as he powered up his computer. “We’ll meet for lunch and go over the meeting and travel schedule.”

“Sounds good.” I replied, as I got to my feet, slinging my bag over my back and making my way out of his office, closing the door behind me. I paused for a moment and found myself smiling. I think I’m really going to enjoy Philly.

Chapter 4

This shouldn’t be too hard, having Pam as my assistant.  The only thing that happened was me giving her a place to stay because she couldn’t drive. Would I be lying if I said I was relieved that nothing happened. Yes I would. But this can work, we can work together just fine. There was a brief knock on the door before Darryl let himself in.

“Hey, what’s up?” I asked, welcoming the distraction.

“I don’t know man.” He looked at me with wide questioning eyes. “What was up with you this morning?” He asked while taking a seat in the only clean chair available.

“What?” I asked, my brows furrowed. “What are you talking about?”

“With Pam, dude,” he pressed. “I know it’s been awhile, but… damn.” I couldn’t help but laugh, I’m sure he wasn’t the only one who noticed me trying to crawl out of the room.

“Well remember what I told you about last night.” I reminded him. He nodded and I responded with a small shrug and smirk.

“Oh my god,” he groaned as he put two and two together. “How?!”

“No clue man, went downtown for some god forsaken reason and she was at the bar.  She was upset and I made her laugh.” And she was gorgeous too, but I don’t need to admit that right now. Especially as Darryl continued to laugh at my dismay.

“Oh Jim,” he laughed. “That is something. Think it’s gonna work?”

“Oh yeah,” I said, almost breathlessly. “This shouldn’t be a problem, nothing happened, we’re good to go.”

“Whatever you say man.” He said as he shook his head. “Have we heard back from Toronto?” Thank god for the subject change. Last week we landed our first international client with the Toronto Raptors, taking on their merchandise as well as their advertisement.

“Yeah, they’re wanting to meet next week to go over the price point. I’ll be going over that with Pam,” I rolled my eyes as Darryl wagged his eyebrows.

“I’m sure she’ll be going along with you.” He pointed out.

“That is in the job description.” I added, while pretending to be occupied with emails. “And she’s not against travel.”

“I’m sure she won’t be once she gets a look at the jet and the hotel.” He bragged.

“Okay, you can leave.” I quipped. Still laughing Darryl got to his feet and made his way out of my office. With a quick glance up at the clock I noticed it was nearing lunchtime.  I decided it was time to prove just how much of a non issue this Pam situation is. When I reached her desk Pam was already buried deep into her computer and judging by all of the business cards scattered across her desk she was busy organizing my business contacts.

“Hey,” I said as steadily as possible. I watched as she raised her head and a smile appeared on her lips.

“Hi,” she replied. “I started organizing your cards into a spreadsheet, that way you can just look them up.”

“That’s awesome.” I grinned. “Would you like to join me for lunch?”

“Sure!” She cheered and quickly got to her feet, grabbing her bag and notebook. I ignored the chuckle from Darryl as we made our way to the elevator. I made sure to stay as close to the wall as possible as the doors closed. You’re acting ridiculous, Halpert. The silence went on and on as the elevator seemed to crawl down to the lobby.

“You like Italian food?” I blurted.

“I love Italian food.” She expressed as we exited the stuffy elevator. I had to clench my fist as I watched Ryan look at Pam up and down. Bosses don’t hit employees. He’s only been here for eight months and he’s successfully slept with Kelly, of course according to her they were dating. But he has also tried to sleep with Angela and Karen. Both of course were large embarrassing failures. He’s a decent receptionist but I’m beginning to think he’s a bit of a dick.

“Good, I’ll take you to my favorite.” Holding the door open I ignored the tingle I felt when she brushed my waist as she walked by. She smelled like roses, kind of like the ones planted in my front yard.

“Have you gotten familiar with Philly yet?” I asked, while leading her to my car. Don’t open the door, Halpert. Bosses don’t open doors.

“For the most part.” she began. “My sister lives here so I know a little bit but I tend to rely on my gps.” I couldn't help but feel a bit of confidence surge through me as she paused at my car, looking at it in awe.

“Have you’ve found a place already?” I asked, while reversing out of my parking spot.

“Is that a camera?!” she practically shouted while pointing to the screen on the dash. I found myself laughing as she looked around the inside of my car. The salesman managed to talk me into a premium package which was the leather seats, rear view camera, lane assist, moonroof, and all of those fancy things.

“Yes it is,” I replied smiling.  I’ll have to thank my brothers later, they may be idiots but they were right about this car. “Have you found a place yet?”

“Yeah,” she sighed dissatisfied as she slouched into her seat.. “A little studio downtown, I’m paying month to month till I find something a little more permanent.” I wasn’t pleased with the thought of her living downtown, It wasn’t the safest place to be located. Especially a beautiful girl.

“How long is the commute?” I asked, while waiting at a stop light. I already knew the answer but was struggling for a decent conversation. What is wrong with me? Conversation is never a problem, dealing with people is my speciality for crying out loud.

“About forty minutes, according to google. Probably fifty with my luck.” She teased. “I’m not the greatest with direction.” Now I was very concerned for her safety. I remember from driving her car back to my place that it was very old, with over 100,000 miles on it. What if it broke down on an even worse side of town.

“Oh wow.” I forced out. “There are some really nice condos around the area, gated communities.” I pressed and immediately regretted it. This wasn't my place at all.

“I’m not too picky.” She mumbled, clearly uncomfortable. I pulled up alongside the curb of the restaurant and parked letting the valet boy open her door. I followed, leaving the keys in the ignition as I got out and made my way around.  We were at Amuse, which was my mother's favorite restaurant here in Philly. You’d miss it if you weren't looking; it's nestled in next to hotels and apartments with an urban look to it.

“Welcome Sir.” The valet kid said as I handed him a twenty before following Pam up the steps of the restaurant.

“Thanks” Once Athlead really began to take off and I became comfortable I started doing as best as I could to give back what I could. Donations to the boys and girls club, adopting families for holidays, raising money, and tipping more than I should… put some positivity out in the world. I followed behind Pam as she walked through the open doors, trying my best to keep my eyes forward. I was immediately hit with the sweet smell of sautéed onions and steak fries. Pam walked shyly by my side as I walked up to the young girl at the hostess booth.

“Welcome,” she smiled. “Are you Halpert, party of two?” she asked.

“Indeed we are.” I affirmed. She grabbed two menus and gestured for Pam to follow. I noticed her eyes were glued to her shoes and maybe I went a little too above with the restaurant but it’s my favorite burger place, just on the pricier side. We were lead to a booth in the back corner where Pam and I took our seats across from one another.

“Are you interested in our daily wine special?” the hostess asked.

“Oh no, no, no.” Pam immediately said, and I had to laugh at her case of the no’s. “I’ll have a water please.”

“Me too.” I added.

“Of course, your waiter will be right with you.” she said, before disappearing back to the entrance.

“Are you never going to drink again?” I asked.

“At least not for awhile and definitely not on a Sunday again.” she laughed. The hostess appeared again with our waters before running back off. I was grateful for the lack of hovering of the staff. I watched Pam glancing over the menu, I hope she wasn’t looking over the prices because that didn’t matter at all.

“Get whatever you want,” I noted. “Company treat.” That wasn’t a lie technically. She gave me a smile before returning to her menu. I already know what I was ordering but continued to look anyway, reminds me that I need to go visit my parents soon, I know my mother will send out a search party eventually. I waited till both our orders were placed and she was more comfortable before bringing up work.

“So we will be traveling to Canada next week,” I began. She immediately took out her notebook and pen, flipping it open to a clean page. “We’ll be flying out next Wednesday and be back Friday.”

“Will I need to be getting supplies together?” She asked, while jotting down notes.

“When we get back I’ll have you meet with Karen, she has the the account for Toronto.” I explained, “That’s also an opportunity to meet everyone too.”

“Should I look at flights too?”

“We actually have a jet,” I laughed at her jaw dropping. “I know, it’s very out there, but makes traveling way easier. But we can have you book the hotel.” She wrote down more notes, and I smirked at how seriously she was taking this. “So the account and marketing sheets, which are in my office, and that’ll be it.”

“I think I can manage that.” She said while looking up and smiling at me. At the sight of that beautiful smile I found myself struck with the realization that I need this woman in my life, I’m not sure how or why yet, just that it’s how it needs to be.

Chapter 5

Pam’s POV

My first week of work went seamlessly, which was in direct contrast to life outside of the office at the moment. My sister finally made it over to my apartment, if you could call it that. She managed to stay a couple hours this weekend and of course she dragged Steve and little Jack along. So while Isabel and I played with Jack, Steve loaded my extra boxes into their minivan. Living in a 600 sq apartment with one closet and no garage only allowed me to keep so many things, so I have to store most of my stuff at their house. I have enough space only to keep the bare necessities, half of my furniture is already in their garage and today they’re taking the majority of my art and supplies along with anything else I can live without for now, it’s actually pretty depressing. On top of that I had to listen to Isabel lecture me for about an hour about the horrible location I was in, yes it wasn’t the safest place, but I wasn’t in immediate danger. I just kept reminding her, and myself, that it wasn’t permanent. Once I make more money I would probably move, maybe into a gated community like Jim mentioned. But for now I’ll keep myself occupied with my sketchbook, Conan, and this cookie dough ice cream I picked up from the grocery store around the corner.

I’m adjusting well into my job and it’s only been a week.  The events of Sunday have had no negative effect between Jim and me. Did I still find him extremely handsome, yes. But I really liked my job and I wasn’t going to risk it.  After lunch last week Jim took me back to the building where he introduced me to the rest of the Athlead team. It was relatively small for how big the company was growing. We started with Ryan, who had a douchebag vibe, but I made sure to keep that opinion to myself. Also, the way he held my hand and was clearly flirting with me in front of our boss was very inappropriate and left me feeling very uncomfortable. We left quickly and went upstairs to meet the sales team which was made of three members. Karen Filippelli, who was gorgeous by the way, she also had a folder of Toronto's paperwork already put together for me. Clark was very sweet and looked to be the youngest here. Then the last salesman, Dwight Schrute, was extremely difficult to explain with words, like a person would just have to experience him in person to really understand. Accounting was Kevin Malone who managed clients and bank statements for the company. Oscar Martinez handled all of the traveling receipt and balancing receipts, and the last was Angela Martin who handled all the money from our clients and companies. She also made it abundantly clear that she was engaged to Dwight and he was happily taken. Which she had absolutely nothing to worry about but I didn’t want to offend her too. Toby sat in the back with Kelly and looked uncomfortable to be alive, but he shook my hand anyway. And of course Kelly got up and hugged me again. All in all, it was a good first day.

I arrived to work early Monday on my second week, so early I was actually the only one here, which was nice. Last week I spent most of the week getting familiar with Jim’s schedule and routine. I came to the conclusion that he is extremely busy and he truly was in desperate need of an assistant. So Monday was dedicated to tackling Jim’s busy schedule and coming up with a system for him to stay on top of his meetings, calls, lunch with clients, and remembering to eat. Once I got ahold of his schedule I broke it down onto a calendar spreadsheet before uploading it to his computer calendar which had an alarm that went off to remind him of his next task, including eating. You’d be surprised. Tuesday was another early day reserved for getting prepared for our trip on Wednesday. Toronto Raptors were looking for a complete rebranding on their team, by the end of Tuesday their folder was ready along with their marketing packets and our pricing packet. My Tuesday night ended with leftover Chinese food and packing my bags.

I was extremely nervous about the pitch we were doing for the Raptors. I wasn’t a huge sports fan, but personally if my team were the called the Raptors I would want my uniforms to have actual rips, like claw marks. While packing I found myself doodling down ideas of what I could see the team wearing. I didn’t plan on showing Jim, of course, just more of keeping a journal of my thoughts. What we were bringing wasn’t terrible either, just not as exciting as it could be; they have an amazing mascot why not make it exciting. The clock on my nightstand kept ticking on and on and I found sleep continuing to escape from me. My thoughts wandered to Jim, what he was doing right now, if he were sleeping, watching tv, maybe he was out with a girl. I don’t get how Jim doesn’t have a girlfriend, he’s good looking, he’s the owner of his own company, he’s funny, and honestly the greatest person I’ve met since I’ve moved here.

Just then my phone began to vibrate on the nightstand, the sound of Chris Brown’s Forever filled my small room. My sister, of course, chose this horrible song as my ringtone because she thought it was the greatest thing since sliced bread. Not bothering to read the caller ID I answered and placed the phone to my ear.

“Hello?” I asked, I was expecting either Kelly or my sister on the other side.

“Pam?” A deeper voice replied and my heart clenched.

“Jim?” I asked, my voice cracking of course.

“Hey,” he said, hesitantly. “Sorry, I know it’s late, I can't sleep.”

“Neither can I.” I admitted and laughed. “I’m nervous, are you?”

“Not gonna lie Beesly, I am.” He said. I laughed at the nickname that he created last Thursday when Andy started to sing my name as Pama-lama-Ding-Dong and I actually grew to hate my own name. “I just feel like we’re missing something.”

“Everything is packed and ready to go, Jim.” I said, steadily. I’ve noticed over years of dealing with my sister, if one person doesn’t remain calm there is chaos. “We have the skids, the posters, the slide show, the pamphlets, price points and accounts paperwork. All we need is us tomorrow and were good to go.”

“Yeah,” he breathed out. “I’ve been in sales since I was seventeen and I still get flustered.” I couldn’t help but laugh at the adjective he chose to describe himself. “Ha ha ha, big bad CEO gets flustered. Call the press.” He teased.

“I can feel that eye roll from here, mister.” I laughed, while rolling onto my side and pulling the blanket up over my shoulder. “But I am a hundred percent sure we have everything, Jim.”

“A hundred percent?” He repeated. “Who knew you were so cocky, Beesly.” I laughed at his stupid joke because all his jokes made me laugh. Even though he was the boss he was the funniest person in the building, Andy being a close second with just his weird antics.

“Speaking of cocky, what’s up with Dwight and his random Cornell talk?” I asked suddenly. “I felt like Andy was going to throw a punch.” Jim’s laugh on the other side of the phone was something I could listen to forever. Friday Dwight showed up to work in head to toe Cornell gear. Andy was close to having smoke rise from his ears.

“That's just Dwight being Dwight,” Jim explained. “Last year I dressed up exactly like him and he made it abundantly clear that identity theft was not a joke.”

“Oh my god, I would give anything for that picture!” I practically screamed into the receiver.

“I’m sure Kelly has it hidden somewhere for a special occasion.” He sighed. “I never asked how unpacking went this weekend?” I was a bit surprised at the casual swing on the conversation, but welcomed it gratefully.

“It went good, my sister came out with her husband and son,” I started. “Most of my stuff is going to stay with them till I get a bigger place. So most of my art supplies and things from college.”

“Jeez, do you live in a closet?’ He teased.

“Basically,” I said as I yawned and suddenly felt tired.

“Well Beesly its best I get to bed now that you’ve kept me up for most of the night.” He said with the biggest amount of sarcasm I've ever heard.

“Oh, whatever, Jim,” I laughed as I stretched and settled into my bed. “See you bright and early tomorrow then.” There was a pause and I smiled into the receiver. “Good night, Jim.”

“Night, Beesly.” He said, before the line disconnected. With a smile still on my lips I placed my phone back in the charger before pulling the sheets around me and falling asleep with ease.

The next morning I was purely exhausted, between staying up late on the phone and having to be up at three thirty am, I was tired. The taxi was ready in front of my apartment at four to drive me to the airport which was about fifty minutes away. Today was just lunch with our potential clients, the GM of the Raptors, Bobby Webster and Sportsnet’s Roy Anderson. I opted for a more casual business look, a pair of grey/blue ankle slacks, with a blue button up that was tucked in and paired with my only pair of black flats. I’ve already made it a plan to go shopping once I had the funds. The airport was lit up like Christmas Day with various planes landing and taking off. Instead of going to the front of the airport the taxi drove straight onto the track and next to a sleek jet. This was a completely different experience than a regular airport. My bags were simply taken and I was escorted onto the jet with my parka in hand.

A mansion on wheels would have explained it better, the celebrity experience I was having in that moment was surreal. The jet was designed better than my downtown apartment with its clean black and grey monotone colors. It contained eight private reclining seats, with cup holders built into the sides, along with black slate tables that rolled out from the side. The bag of pretzels in my purse suddenly felt unworthy of this experience. I picked the seat closest to the cockpit that faced the exit door and glanced out the window. As it ticked closer to five the sun slowly began to rise, casting light along the the runway. I wasn’t surprised that Jim wasn’t here yet, he was usually a few minutes behind in his day. Around a quarter to six Jim finally bounded up the steps of the jet. If it weren’t for the two cups of Starbucks in his hands I would been drooling over his choice of a casual business outfit. He paired a pair of charcoal grey slacks with a v neck pullover sweater, I noticed a bit of chest hair peeking out the the collar of his shirt. He had both sleeves pushed up showing off his large forearms. Of course his messenger bag was thrown over his shoulder and I noticed he remembered his parka as it was draped over said bag.

“Chai tea, right?” He asked, while walking over to hand me the drink. I quickly and awkwardly got to my feet to help him with his full hands. I grabbed both Starbucks and placed them in the cup holders before settling back down in my seat. “Figure I’d owe you after keeping you up for the majority of the night.”

“I would have just been up alone anyway,” I laughed while taking a sip of the spicy tea, he remembered the cinnamon. I watched in awe as Jim dropped down in the seat across from me and began to stretch. Must be difficult being above six foot in a small tube flying through the air. My breath hitched as the bottom of his sweater, slightly rose revealing the hair that played at the brim of his boxers. I averted my eyes quickly as my cheeks grew intensely hot.

“So when did we get a better plane than the Kardashians?” I blurted, my eyes still glued to my cup.

“This is what happens when you put Andy in charge of choosing the plane.” Jim sighed, while rubbing his tired eyes.

“That explains so much,” I laughed. Soon the exit door was sealed and we were being instructed to buckle our belts. The take off process was so much smoother, you could barely tell that we were in the sky by the time we settled into the air.

“Well we’ve got six hours to kill, lets just perfect everything.” Jim said, while pulling out the black slate table. I pulled out my laptop and all of Toronto’s files while Jim unrolled the new marketing logos and the skids of new merchandise that we’re presenting. “What’s that?” Jim said suddenly as I sipped my tea. Before I could stop him Jim was reaching for the sketches I made last night that were dangling out of my notebook.

“Those are just my sleepless night.” I said quickly while trying to reach for them but he was already shuffling through the drawings.

“Pam, these are amazing.” I felt like my stomach was in knots as he looked long and hard at each of them. I’ve never been open about my art, to me they have always been stupid doodles in my free time. “This one is perfect…are these jerseys?!” He practically shouted when he came across the last sheet that I actually spent a good amount of time on. Most basketball jerseys have these silly bars on the sides of them, I have no clue if they mean anything but instead of burning straight bars I made them into slashes, like claw marks from a Raptor.

“I clearly have to much free time on my hands.” I mumbled and pretended to be occupied with the price point pamphlets in hope that he would put down the damn drawings.

“Well you're clearly amazing at it,” he said, while he neatly packed away the drawings.“So once I’m done presenting the skids of the individual look, I’ll skip on over to the packaging and that’s when you can hand out the price packets.” He said, while jotting down some notes to himself. “You have the hotel reservations right?” He suddenly asked.

“The fact that you question my skills is disappointing.” I replied, while typing away on my laptop. Once I got the hang of Jim and the way he works it was easy to keep up with him and his style. I haven’t fallen behind yet, I’m constantly ahead of him actually. He’s just so busy with other things it causes him to be forgetful about the smaller things.

“You have become a monster, Beesly.” He teased and continued rechecking the skids. Even though I wasn’t a huge fan of flying, this time was a pleasant experience, the ride was so smooth I was able to lay back and watch clouds drift calmly in the sky. Before I knew it I fell asleep with my head against the window.

Jim’s POV

Pam was still sleeping, her mouth slightly open now. Suddenly the dinging from above alerting us to buckle back in woke her up. I continued to watch her as she opened her eyes looking groggy for a moment before she stretched her arms out above her head, which of course caused her shirt to rise a bit.

“How long was I asleep?” She asked while I moved my eyes to my phone trying to look busy with my emails.

“Just a little over an hour.,” I replied. She became a bit more alert as she began to buckle herself back in, and took a sip of her cold tea. I watched her nose wrinkle at the taste and bit back a chuckle.

“How are you feeling?” She asked suddenly.

“I haven’t been this nervous about a pitch in a long time.” I admitted,  “I’m going to need a long vacation after this Raptors project is all done.” I take a peek over at her and I have her undivided attention. That’s one thing I’ve noticed about Pam, she’s always truly interested in whatever it is I have to say, she’s the easiest person to talk to. “I’m thinking maybe Fiji this time. I haven’t been to Australia yet so I may take a few weeks or so and spend a little time and relax.”

“Sounds amazing! Does the personal assistant get to come along?” She asked while wagging her eyebrows.

“Oh, um” I said, way too quickly. Her face instantly fell and she began shaking her head back and forth.

“No, no, I’m kidding... I’m kidding. Just a joke.” She whispered that last part out. I could tell that she was embarrassed, though she was looking down I could see the blush high on her cheeks. But honestly, if I were to actually go on vacation I’d probably consider finding a way to bring her along. I can’t think of anyone who I would rather spend my time with.

“Ah, well I was kind of just thinking out loud anyway. I’d love to travel again but I’ve been way too busy lately.” But maybe with her help I’ll actually catch up on my work and really will be able to take some time off. In the short time she’s been working with me she’s really...

“Yeah that’s one aspect of this job that I’m really excited about. I haven’t even been out of the country yet, hardly been out of Pennsylvania really.” She said, while crossing her ankles. “My parents live in upstate New York, more of our family gatherings are there.”

“New York is beautiful.” I said while giving her a small smile. “You would love Niagara Falls.” She flashed me the smile that makes my heart skip every time.

“I’ll have to check it out.”

Chapter 6

Jim was so nervous to the point that he wasn’t even talking. He looked like someone kicked his damn puppy. The ride from the airport to the Toronto’s Raptors arena was excruciatingly quiet. He was glued to his phone and the Toronto file, just flipping it though it, again and again. We pulled up to the arena and I could tell by the front gate that the two gentlemen were waiting for us. We came to a halt a the front of the building, Jim immediately got out and I quickly followed making sure to have my notebook and pen tucked into my purse. The Canadian air was very crisp and almost piercing as we walked across to the gate, I shivered into my coat. I was probably the only one cold, most of the people at the airport were wearing light sweaters and jeans.

“Gentleman,” Jim sung, as we reached the two young men. One appeared to be maybe in his forties while the other looked much closer to my age. I recognized the older one as Bobby Webster the GM of the Raptors, he wore a very expensive looking suit with no coat. His suit was a dark blue and a white button up, he opted for no tie. The other man had to be Roy, he wore a pair of khaki colored slacks with a white button down that he had rolled up to his elbows. Also not wearing a coat! They must be yeti’s. The younger man had a thick beard, thicker than Jim’s but it was also trimmed up and clean, his hair was just simple and styled up to the side. He was big too, not just tall but big, he appeared to be in very good shape. Okay, I’m not going to lie he was very nice too look at, and he was looking at me too. Not once the whole time we were walking did his eyes drop from mine, they were a bright blue that almost looked like they were glowing. “So glad we could finally make this work.” Jim and Bobby clasped hands, before he reached over to shake Roy’s who eyes were still locked with mine. I could feel like my cheeks burning as I smiled softly to myself. “Bobby this is my assistant Pam,” I finally tore my eyes away from the blue eyed beauty and shook hands with Bobby. I then extended my hand to Roy, who carefully engulfed his entire hand around mine.

“You look like your freezing,” he said, and I couldn’t help but laugh.

“I really am.” I said, my cheeks were hurting from how big I was smiling. “I’m Pam.”

“I’m Roy,” he replied, as he still held my hand. He was so warm, I almost hoped he wouldn’t let go. We stood there for a moment our hands still locked together as Bobby and Jim’s voices began to drown behind me. “I’m guessing you’re not from here.” Before I could reply Bobby acknowledge us, causing me to drop my hand finally.

“How about a tour?” Bobby asked, his question mostly directed towards Jim who was busy looking at Roy, and Roy still had his eyes on me.

“Sounds great,” Jim managed.  With my eyes glued to my feet I fell into step beside Roy as we followed behind Bobby and Jim into the stadium. We walked in silence for a moment while my eyes looked around at all of the designs and merchandising they had in just the entrance of the building.

“So where are you from,” Roy said, as he looked down at me with his hands in his pockets. We were a few paces behind Bobby and Jim but Roy kept his voice low. “I hope somewhere warm.” He teased.

“Actually,” I began while trying to not laugh. “I’m from Scranton and currently live in Philly.”

“How do you live,” he chuckled, “You must live in long johns.” I couldn’t help but laugh at the thought of me walking around in long johns all of the time.

“No, but I do live in sweaters,” I smiled. Roy laughed, this time a bit louder which caused Jim to look back at us, his face looked different, his eyes gave nothing away to the emotion he was feeling, he didn’t even have a smirk on his lips. He quickly returned back to his conversation with Bobby.

“Well I hope you actually have a home,” Roy said, bringing me back to our conversation.

“I do, even though it's only a little bigger than a sweater.” We followed behind Jim and Bobby as they began descending down the stadium seats. “I live in downtown Philly till I can find something more permanent.”

“Downtowns gotta be fun though,” Roy pointed out. “I’m sure you’re on top of those tables dancing.” I shook my head laughing as he began to shimmy next to me, purposely rocking his hip into me.

“Oh no, no, no. Me drinking just leads to trouble.” I explained, my eyes suddenly burning into the back of Jim’s head. He was too busy talking with Bobby on the court to notice the holes I was burning into the back of his head.

“Oh no, what is drunk Pammy like?” He asked, suddenly giving me a nickname. “Handsy? A Dancer? Ooh, maybe a singer,” he teased, while we continued to walk across the court.

“Last time I did karaoke was like freshman year college.” I replied while looking up at him.

“Who do I have to bribe to get that video?” He asked, while shining me his teeth. I gestured to him that my lips were sealed, by dragging my fingers across them and pretending to lock my lips. “I’d watch who you are challenging, Missy.” He teased, but his voice was almost sultry. It made me shiver. Were we flirting? We must be. And it felt extremely good to do, besides the men at work and Jim this has been my only other interaction and I was loving it.

“So how about East Thirty-Six for lunch?” Bobby asked, once again he was mostly addressing Jim and Roy. “Great food and bar, we can also continue to go over the needs.”

“Sounds great,” Jim said, while casting a look my way. He finally had somewhat of a smile on his face.

“Hey do you really need Pam with you, Boss?” Roy suddenly asked Jim. I felt my head snap to up Roy, watching him as he looked at Jim and Bobby. He looked like he was asking a casual question with his hands in his pockets. “If you don’t I was gonna take her around, give her a taste of what Toronto's got to offer, eh?” Roy then nudged my arm and I couldn’t help but smile at him.

“Uh,” Jim stumbled, I looked back at his eyes that were searching mine for an answer. “Yeah, no. That sounds great. Pam, you could use a break.” He immediately averted his gaze back to Bobby. “We can actually go over the packages I have ready too, if you’d like.” With his immediate change of subject I tried my best not to feel a bit of rejection a he turned his back to me and began to follow Bobby to the end of the court.

“Alright,” Roy said, pulling my attention back to him. “So, you ready for some Toronto fun or what?” He asked, while wagging his eyebrows. My sad mood instantly lightened at the thought of touring around Toronto instead of taking notes while trying to stuff my face. “I hope you’re not a lightweight,” he teased leading me towards the door of the arena.

“And I hope you’re not boring!” I teased back as we took a different route out of the building. I kept close to his side as we walked through the dark tunnel, which the players usually run out of, till we went through a large door that opened to the back parking lot. I was greeted again by the freezing cold air of Canada. “What side of the road do you guys drive on?” I suddenly asked. Roy let out a chuckle as we walked up to a sleek black BMW i8.  I knew absolutely nothing about cars but I do remember Isabel’s husband was going on and on about his dream car being a BMW.

“You don’t get out much do you?” He asked, while walking ahead to get the door for me. Blushing I quickly got into the car and buckled in before looking up across the lot where I saw Jim and Bobby walking. Jim appeared to be staring this way. He could be staring at the car for all I know. I felt a tug at my heart and I had to remind myself that there isn’t a chance that we’re gonna happen. I should be able to enjoy myself when I want, I should be able to go out with a hot guy and have fun. Roy jogged around the car before getting in and revving the engine for life. It was loud, I could feel it humming under me as he sped off through the parking lot before turning onto the road and merging with traffic.

“So Pam,” Roy began as he pulled on a pair of black Ray Bans as he swerved gracefully in and out of lanes. “What do you do in your free time?” He asked while putting the sunglasses on.

“I love to paint,” I said as lamely as possible. “Uh, I’m really into art, I went to Pratt Institute.”

“Art, eh?” He asked, while he reached forward to activate the heated seats on my side. I felt the tips of ears burning at the small gesture. I’ve never met such a damn gentleman. He could be just trying to get into your panties, Beesly. “How did you get mixed up in Sports Marketing?”

“Well after school I was looking to move somewhere a bit more,” I trailed off trying to think of the word. “Exciting, I guess, and I applied for the first job I saw and got it.”  

“You’d be amazed by the art scene here,” he said while driving down a very busy and eventful street. “And I hope you’re ready for some fun, because I’m going to show you all what Canada has to offer,” he added before stopping his car on the curb in-front of a restaurant called The Richmond Station. I quickly got out before he could get the door for me but he was quickly by my side grabbing my purse from my hand. “Now unless you’re using this to jot my number down you won’t need it.” He said before he threw it in the back seat and tossed his keys to the nearby valet boy waiting.

“But my money is in there,” I protested immediately but Roy just shook his head as he placed a hand low on my back and began directing me inside for the restaurant. Outside was already crowded by multiple groups of people probably waiting for a table to open up.

“You don’t pay when I’m around, Pam.” He stated. The restaurant resembled a train, or subway station right away. It was beautiful, tall ceilings, iron work in the insides, very rustic but extremely modern and chic. “Carl!” Roy suddenly cheered as he approached a man wearing a white chefs apron. “Man, how have you been?” He asked as they did that common bro hug that all men do. I stood quietly beside Roy, my eyes still wandering around the restaurant. It was packed to the brim with people, the bar was also full, people chatting with one another.

“What the hell are you doing here man?” Carl asked smiling, with his hands proudly on his hips.

“Showing little Miss Pam here what Canadians are all about,” Roy said while he stretched a long arm around my side. My heart began ramming against my chest at the feeling of his strong his arm around me, and how secure I felt against him. This was an insane feeling.

“Pleasure to meet you mademoiselle,” he said while flashing me the whitest smile I’ve ever seen.

“Got any room for us?” Roy asked.

“Of course I do!” Carl quickly grabbed two menus before escorting us towards the side of the restaurant. More of the tables were long and conjoined putting smaller groups together. But in this particular corner was just a table for two, a plaque behind the wall in elegant writing wrote, Chef’s Choice. I’m guessing it’s a special table reserved for moments likes these maybe. “Is it the regular Lager, Roy?” He asked as we took our seats at the table, I was almost starstruck at the beautiful view out the window. The streets were very busy with tourists and locals alike walking up and down the sidewalks. There were multiple people set up at tables or booths selling jewelry, or playing music, I saw a cartoonist down the way too. The buildings were just so beautiful to look at, they look like originals and probably had so much character to them.

“Yes, and we’ll get the Pinot Noir for her,” he said, as I looked over at him smiling. Carl quickly jaunted off to the kitchen leaving us with the menus. My brows instantly furrowed at the menu, it was all in French.

“Uh,” I began while looking up at Roy who looked like he was about to laugh.

“Quoi, belle fille? Tu ne lis pas le français?” The way he said it was so fluent and beautiful to listen to, I laughed and shook my head.

“I didn’t pay attention in school.” I admitted.

“Well they have an amazing burger here, just like an American one but better.”

“How’s it better?” I asked.

“It’s Canadian,” he said, matter of fact. “Everything is better Canadian,” he shot me a wink and I could feel my heart thumping. Carl appeared with our drinks, Roy’s appeared to be just a regular looking beer and mine was a sparkling white wine, which was delicious. Roy quickly ordered two of the burgers we was talking about, I was extremely turned on with how much control he had in this situation. Him paying, him driving, ordering my drink, how he ordered my food.  “How long are you here for?”

“We fly out Friday morning,” I replied and slowly sipped my wine. I have had alcohol since the night I was with Jim, I didn’t want to repeat my mishap.

“That gives me less than two days,” he groaned while taking a drink of his beer.

“Two days for what?” I asked, I noticed my tone was flirtatious.

“Two day’s to convince you to go out with me.” He explained. I couldn’t help but laugh at the way he was so serious.

“I live in Philly,” I stated. “If we land this sale I’ll practically be living at Athlead.” I was basically saying I was too busy for a boyfriend. What the hell, Pam? This man wants to go out with you. Shut up.

“Thinks that’s gonna stop me?” He challenged, I noticed his eyes turned a darker shade of blue.  I felt my heart racing at the thought of going on an actual date, and a date with him.

*** 

Jim’s POV

I’ve been with Bobby for over three hours now, he managed to drag a couple members from the board with us and it became more of a “sports talk” than work meeting. We were wll into the evening now and I was on my fourth, maybe fifth beer, not to mention the three shots I had to knock back with him and was definitely not sober at this point and the only thing on my mind was Pam. Where the hell she was, what the hell she was doing, and what the hell Roy was doing with her. Were they flirting, were they laughing, is she blushing? Were they actually enjoying one another's company. Roy would be a complete fool if he didn't enjoy every second with Pam. Every time she walks into a room it just lights up, the lights seem brighter, the colors seem warmer, the air even smells sweeter. This past week and a half with her have become the greatest times at work that I have had in a long time.I was looking to forward to Angela’s complaints, Kelly’s gossip and Andy’s horrible banjo playing because it meant that she was there to endure it with me, and actually make it painless, I’ve never been more excited to come to work in the morning.

Her first friday was by far the greatest day I had with her. It started off with us meeting for coffee in the morning to discuss our agenda for Monday and Tuesday. She, thankfully, got the memo about casual Fridays in the office, but she still took my breath away when she came skipping up the steps of the Starbucks around the corner. I was already seated outside with my black coffee and her chai tea, so I was able to just watch in awe as she made her way to me dressed in ankle length, grey speckled slacks along with a white collared peeking out from under a tan sweater. And, of course, to top it off she was still buried under her pink peacoat that she always wore in the morning because apparently she wasn't made for the cold weather. I was glad I put a little more effort into my wardrobe decisions this morning, I went with a pair of dark jeans and a, simple but higher end, grey long sleeve tee which of course was pushed up to my elbows; my hair and beard were starting to get on the side of long -I’ll have to ask Pam to make an appointment with my barber, Antonio- but I managed to look presentable.

“You’ll never believe what I just saw,” Pam said in a rush as she sat down, and looked like she was going to jump out of her chair with excitement

“What did you see?” I asked, around laughter as I pushed her cup of tea towards her.

“I saw a junkyard dog attacking the bones of a rotisserie chicken,” she laughed.

“Nature,” I smiled while nodding at her. She took a sip of her tea and I noticed her nose scrunched up. “Did I get the wrong tea?” She shook her head while reaching for the cinnamon on the table. I watched her shake a bit of cinnamon into her cup before taking another. “So a dash of cinnamon next time?”

“And it’ll be perfect,” she teased, and reached into her bag to grab her notebook. Oh yeah, this was supposed to be work related. Even though really I just love spending my time with her, I get away with nine to ten hours a day, but I want more.

“So, Monday,” I began, “I’m thinking we’ll get the skids from Karen, she should have them complete already, we’ll check them over and get them all packed up, then we should get printing on the pamphlets, do you have the spread?” I asked, I hated how official I sounded.

“Yes!” she replied and pulled out the printed excel spreadsheet from her notebook and handed it to me. I quickly glanced over the price points as she continued to sip her tea.

“These are perfect, just have Karen print fifteen copies.” Tucking the the paper away, she began to jot down a few notes. I've watched her so many times now that I've noticed the small crease in between her eyebrows that she gets when she's really concentrating.

“Alright Beesly,” her head instantly popped up. I’ve given her the nickname due to Andy’s many ridiculous uses of her name. “Enough work talk, tell me a little about you.” I urged her while I sipped my black coffee.

“Oh, um.” she stammered as she closed her notebook and drew her tea closer.  “Ok, what do you want to know?”

“I don’t know.” Do you find me as amazing as I find you? “Just tell me three things about Pam.”

“Ok, lets see.” she laughed, and thought for a moment. “ Oh I know! I’ve seen an actual ghost. I love to paint, obviously. But none of my art has seen the light of day.  And, I recently moved to Philly from Scranton because I got an amazing new job and I have a pretty cool boss..” I couldn’t help but chuckle at that adorable smile that accompanied her last comment. Was I blushing?

“Come on, you can do better than that” I teased, but still smiled. I knew most of those facts, except the ghost, but there is no way I believe in those so I’m going to let that go for now.

“Nope, your turn.” she said sternly as she leaned back in her chair and pointed at me. “Three things. Go Halpert.” I had to ignore the way it felt when she called me by my last name. It was almost like a flirtatious game.

“Alright, once while on vacation a seagull flew from behind me and snatched my hotdog right out of my hand.” I stated and she instantly began to laugh. “I’m a huge fan of basketball but haven't played since college.  And I recently acquired a new assistant who has been an amazing addition to the team” I finished and raised my eyebrows. “There, how was that?”

“Great, very informative” she replied, her nails were tapping against the side of her cup. I’ve also noticed that this was a habit she usually expressed when nervous. “What else do you do in your free time?”

“Honestly, lately, not much” I sighed. “I haven’t had a lot of free time lately. I used to do a lot of biking or concerts. The, um,” I paused thinking back to Sunday, “the other night was really the first night I had been out like that in quite a few months. I just needed a break, you know.”

“Yeah, I get it…” She trailed off, clearly uncomfortable. “My sisters coming up tomorrow to help me finish moving.” she quickly said, obviously changing the weird subject. “Well she’s coming with Jack, my nephew, and her husband who is going to move things.”

“What are you moving?”

“Mostly all of my art supplies, and things I can live without for a few months,” she explained. “Until I get a bigger place, you know one with more than just a bedroom, and a closet.”

“Well how many kitchens are you looking to have?” I teased.

“At least three,” she laughed.

“That’s more than my house!” I chuckled.

“We’ll just remodel one of those many extra rooms into your third kitchen,” she suggested. “That has to get lonely, right?” she asked, and I could feel my smile falter a little. “All those bedrooms all to yourself.”

“Yeah,” I mumbled. “That’s why I don't mind the travel or the work.” There was a moment of silence, and I mentally kicked myself for getting so awkward.

“We’ll get you a roommate, Halpert.” she said, while giving me her beautiful smile.

“What do you say Jim,” I was instantly snapped out of my memory by Bobby smacking his hand on my back.

“I’m sorry, sir.” I replied, while finding myself a little dazed and confused. “What’s up?”

“Were gonna head on over to Carbon for some more drinks you in?” he asked. A part of me knew I should probably go, nothing better than drinking with the board of the Toronto Raptors, but really I just needed to lie down and worry more about Pam. Yeah, that seemed logical.

“Actually man, I think I’ll have to skip out on this,” I said while I carefully got to my feet, while finishing off the rest of my drink. “I’ve got a big day with some future investor snobs tomorrow.” I joked, thankfully they were all drunk enough to laugh and not notice my slurring.

“You’re a funny man, Halpert,” Bobby laughed. “We’re really looking forward to tomorrow.” he said, a little more seriously while he shook my hand firmly.

“Me too,” I replied while following the group of men out of the restaurant. Thankfully the hotel was only two short blocks away from the hotel so I went with the option of walking. Which probably wasn’t the best choice because my legs weren’t quite cooperating but I decided I needed to see if maybe I could clear my head bit before I made it back to the hotel to try to appear sober for Pam, if she’s even back yet. The Canadian air was crisp and immediately awoke my senses, if you listen closely you could hear the waves of the Harbour. With my hands in my pockets I couldn't help but feel that nagging jealous feeling in the back of my head at the thought of Pam alone with Roy. He’s not a bad looking, single male, who happens to also not be her boss. Is it so bad that she has fun with another male? Yes, because it’s not me. Because it’s not me taking her out to dinner. Because it’s not me making her laugh right now. Because it’s not me debating if I should kiss her tonight. It’s him, I barely even knew who he was, besides a hot shot sportscaster here in Toronto. Probably rich. Buying her anything she wants.  I can do that. But you can’t, you’re her boss. Well I had my chance. But you know it wouldn't have been right with her being drunk and half unconscious. But what if he does? I may actually vomit. That could also have to do with all the beer sitting in my gut. The thought of his rough hands on her soft body was enough to make my stomach turn. I groaned loudly as I waited at a traffic light to change before I could cross, I noticed two ladies take a noticeably large step away from me.

She couldn't possibly be into that, he’s too many, too rough, too in charge. Well what if she actually liked that? What if that was her thing. A rough man who took charge. I can take charge, I could always fire her and date her. She wouldn't have to work a day in her life, she would move in, we would convert one of the rooms into her art studio. I would use my connections and fine ways to get her art out in the world. She’d like that, right? Well you can’t just go and fire her then tell her it’s because you love her. Whoa… love Halpert? Were jumping the gun there right? No, we are most certainly not. You loved her the moment she began to drool on your pillow, the moment she said ‘oh shit’ in front of the executive staff, and the moment you heard her laugh. You’re drunk Halpert, that’s impossible. My head was spinning and I should probably sit down but the thoughts kept coming as I rounded the corner and I saw the Ritz Carlton down the way, so I kept going. I told Pam to choose the nicest hotel and, holy shit, did she do an amazing job. It had an extremely victorian look in the front, with panel windows, tiffany fixtures and a vintage sign that made it look imported straight from England. Walking into the lobby I felt like I traveled back in time to the fifties, maybe I should be smoking a cigarette. There was white stone tile throughout the lobby and more tiffany fixtures and chandeliers dangled above illuminating the room. Walking down the steps I walked straight to the check in staff who, of course, had that customer service smile plastered to their faces.

“Welcome to the Ritz, sir,” she cheered. “How can I help you?”

“My bags were brought here earlier, I just need a room key now.” I mumbled, I noticed her nose crinkle from my breath.

“You must be Mr. Halpert, correct?” she said, while shuffling papers around on her counter. “Here is your room key, yours and Ms. Beesly’s bags have already been escorted up.”

“Has Ms. Beesly checked in?” I found myself asking.

“Yes sir, she checked in maybe forty five minutes ago.” she replied with a smile. I had to refrain from asking if she were by herself. Taking my key I made my way to the elevators where I loaded on and began the journey to the sixth floor. I had to brace myself on the elevator wall to keep from vomiting or just falling over.  Do I stop at her room, check in with her? Maybe lie and tell her we need to work on the presentation one more time. But what if he was there? Do I go to my room, or interrupt? Our rooms are right next to one another, no way am I going to stay up and listen to that. The doors quickly open and I made my way down the hall of rooms, I immediately passed mine and found myself standing outside of Pams room. I held my breath as I tried to listen to any noise coming from her room. All I could hear was the muffled sounds of a movie. Were they watching a movie? Before I could stop myself my fist was already rapping against her door.

“Coming!” I heard her yell, before I could make out the sounds of her feet running against the floor. With in seconds the door flew open and she was standing there taking my breath away. Her hair was noticeably wet, I could see it starting to curl, her face looked fresh and clean, no makeup in sight. I could smell the scent of roses coming off of her. And, of course, she was wearing nothing but a robe. I found myself groaning and tightening at the thought of seeing her naked. “Jim, you okay?” she asked me, her big green eyes filled with concern.

“Did you have sex with Roy?” I blurted, loudly. Her eyebrows shot up as her cheeks turned my favorite shade of pink.

“Excuse me?”

“Did you have sex with the newscaster prick.” I stumbled, while using the door frame as support.

“Jim, are you drunk?” she asked, while grabbing my arm and taking me into her room, which was beautiful, she had a very large bed in the middle of the room and I noticed that she had the fireplace going. It made my cold arms feel better. She gently push me towards the bed and I could feel my legs give out as I sat down on the plush bed. “How much have you had?” she asked while rushing over to the mini fridge and pulling out a small water bottle. I watched her delicate fingers quickly open the bottle and hand it to me. “Drink,” she urged but I shook my head.

“You didn't answer me,” I said, as sternly as I tried, but I could feel my words faulting. “Did you have sex with Roy?”

“No,” she replied and handed me the water. Reluctantly I took the small bottle and began to chug the water. I almost heaved as the water hit my beer full stomach. “Now, what happened?” she asked, while putting her hands on her hips. I could tell just by the way she was standing she wasn't happy.

“You’re mad.” I stated.

“I’m not mad,” she sighed, and went to crossing her arms.. “I’m just wondering how going out with the GM ended up with you wasted?” she explained.

“Well one beer led to another, and another, and another, and another,” I repeated over and over, I could tell she was fighting internally to not laugh. “Then he invited the board and more beer was in front of me. And this wasn't bitch beer, Beesly.” I said a bit louder. “These were big ass glasses of beer.”

“Wait, the board came out?” she asked, surprised. I gave a sloppy nod, almost giving into gravity and falling back onto the bed. “Jim that’s awesome, how’d it go?”

“Not sure,” I replied and looked up at her questioning expression. “I was too busy thinking about you.”

Chapter 7

Pam’s POV

“Why were you thinking about me?” I asked drunk Jim while looking into his glazed over eyes.

“Thinking about you with that man,” he complained. “His hands on you.”

“His hands weren't on me,” I reassured him. After lunch Roy made several attempts of asking me out for a real date and I told him I wanted to see how tomorrow goes, but really I just didn't know what to do. Of course I was flattered by Roy’s take charge attitude and the way the way he held himself and was so confident, but was it really me? I mean, was there even really a man there for me? I haven't been on enough dates to even know. Once Roy dropped me off I checked in and had an amazing shower before Jim here was banging on my door, I only just managed to pull on this robe. “It was just lunch, then he dropped me off.” I turned and made my way to the restroom to grab a washcloth.

“I dont want his hands on you,” he called, as I ran the cloth under the cool water. I didn't say anything as I turned to make my way back to him. His eyes followed my every move as I stood between his legs and pressed the cold washcloth to his face. With the height of the victorian bed, him sitting put his head to my chin. His eyes closed shut as I dabbed the cold cloth over his face, I learned this from my sister when she took care of me on my 21st birthday. “I can’t even think of his hands on you.” He mumbled and I couldn't tell if he was talking to himself or me.

“He didn't touch me, Jim.” I comforted, and continued to dab. He opened his eyes and they looked sad and exhausted.

“You’re too soft for that.” he mumbled, his long fingers wrapped around my wrist that was resting on his shoulder. I tried my best not to react as his hand traveled up my arm, leaving a trail of goosebumps along the way as he exhaled a breathy “it’s not fair”.

“What’s not fair?” I whispered, as I pressed the cloth to his forehead. I knew he was just drunk and talking nonsense. There was no actual way that he wanted to do this, I know for a fact that sober Jim wouldn't do this, he’d keep his distance, we’re focused on work, even after what happened last Sunday. Jim belongs with business women that have come to visit Athlead; tall, gorgeous, sleek, blondes and brunettes. Beautiful women like Karen, not an executive assistant with mediocre art skills.

“That he can touch you and I can't.” My hand froze as I looked down at his sad eyes again. “He can take you out, and spoil you.” he whispered, while he extended his other arm around my waist. My hand fell slack against his shoulder while he pulled me closer between his legs. “He gets to hold you and kiss you and I can’t.” His long fingers began to creep up to the exposed skin around my collar bone. I could feel my nipples harden at the intimate touch and prayed that this robe was thick enough that he didn't notice.

“He didn’t touch me, Jim.” I repeated while grabbing his hand away from my neck. I could see his eyebrows furrow as I held his hand gently. “It was just lunch.”

“Good.” he almost spat, as he leaned up to press his mouth against mine. I was surprised at first, but quickly began to push him back while turning my head to the side.  His hungry lips just moved along my jaw and down my neck while he tightened his arms around me.

“Jim, you need sleep.” I sputtered, while I continued to push against his chest, but his forearms just tightened. “You’ll be upset in the morning, you need to sleep this off.” He used his free hand to grab my hand that was pushing against him and he laced his fingers through mine. Even through the fluffy robe I couldn't deny that I felt a sizeable bulge pressing against my leg. His mouth began to suck gently at the skin on my neck, making it extremely difficult to concentrate. God knows I wanted to, so badly, but it just wasn't right, it shouldn't be this way. “Jim, seriously,” I said more steady than before. “You don’t want this.” You don't want me.

“But I do,” he said, against my neck. “I have since I met you Beesly.” he admitted. My heart was swelling at the thought of him wanting me but alcohol could be playing a prominent role. He leaned in and attempt to kiss me again but I turned my head letting his lips connect with my jaw. I could hear his groan of frustration in my ear, that caused my legs to quiver. “Please, Pam.” he begged. I felt myself shiver as his beard traced down my neck. ‘I just need to feel you.” I could feel myself immediately give in to the way his voice shook through me; I couldn’t deny him, nor myself, any longer at this point. Turning my head I could feel my lips connect with the side of his jaw, his beard tickling my nose as I placed a kiss there. He immediately responded by finding my lips, his breath smelled strongly of beer but it still did not change the intensity I felt when we kissed. I couldn’t help but melt against him as our lips furiously attacked one another, his hands on my waist pulling me closer. Twisting my fingers tightly into his long hair, I parted my lips, feeling him moan into my mouth, tasting the beer on his tongue. His hands ran down the back of my robe where he cupped me above my thighs, bringing me even closer to him. I gasped as he tugged harder on the back of my legs, a subtle request for me to climb up on the bed until I was straddling him. Without.. Well anything on I could feel his erection digging into me. And dang did it feel good. It was increasingly difficult to remind myself how wrong this actually was, because it just felt so right. Our tongues and moans were in an on going war while our hips began rocking against one another, desperate for friction.

“Jim,” I gasped, while I turned my head to breathe. His lips continued along my jaw and down the side of my neck. “Jim,” I repeated, but found my thoughts crumbling, when he pushed my robe off my shoulder and his teeth nipped gently at the exposed skin. My head rolled back as I closed my eyes, grinding even harder against him. He kissed his way up to the other side and freed my right shoulder the robe now pooling at my elbows, I just barely manage to grasp the front with my left hand before he exposed my breasts. He leaned forward, arching my back, while sliding his left hand up under the back of my thigh, beneath the robe, to wrap my legs around his waist so I was now completely hugged around him. As he hovered above me he begin to kiss down my chest freeing the robe completely from my upper body. After an agonizingly long route across my chest he finally found my nipple with that talented tongue as I moaned to the ceiling and felt a rush of wetness go south. And, holy god, this was what I needed but it has got to stop…NOW… we can’t do this… again. His tongue flicked my nipple softly while he began to suck gently.The pressure was just escuisite. Jesus. Come on Beesly, get a hold of yourself.

“Jim, stop, I need to freshen up.” I managed to say, while snapping my head upright. But the sight of his mouth on my breast made it nearly impossible to concentrate and I was becoming noticeably wet. But I knew I needed to end this before we ruined what was already working for us. “Seriously, Jim. I need to shower.”  That was a lie of course I already took a shower, but I needed space from him, and then maybe he’d pass out. Plus cold water on my flushed skin didn't sound like a horrible idea at the moment.

“Why?” he groaned into my skin while, pulling me closer to him. He reached up to nuzzle his nose into my haIr. “You smell like roses.”

“And you smell like beer.” I retorted, while pushing a little harder, and finally he loosened his grip enough for me to straighten out my robe and get back onto my feet. “Just give me a few minutes to shower, and you drink more water.” I suggested, while tying the robe as tight as I could.

“Ugh,” he groaned in frustration while crashing back onto the bed. “I haven't had sex since Karen.” Just like that my heart plummeted into my stomach.

“What?” I whispered, liked the wind had been knocked out of me. But he didn’t respond, by the way he body was laying I could tell he was falling asleep. I stood there silently for a few seconds just watching him relax into the sheets before I rushed off to the bathroom. Closing the door, I found myself leaning against it for support. God that hurt, it hurt a lot. Karen? Beautiful, Italian, sales women, Karen. Of course, Pam. Don’t be stupid. Big CEO probably sleeps with all the young women in the office. I never would have pegged him for that stereotype. You’re the assistant, nothing more. But, it feels like more than that, he even said himself that he was attracted to me before I worked for him.  Ugh!  Pushing away from the door I decided the best thing to do was to just shake it off and get ready for bed. First, I moisturize my face, followed by brushing my teeth, before pulling my hair up into a bun on my head. With a deep breath I made my way back into the room, and of course my calculations were correct, he was passed out on the bed.

Even though I was hurting I still couldn't help feeling for him. Turning my back I went to my suitcase on the small love seat in front of the fireplace and pulled out my pajamas. They were just a simple pajama set that my sister got me as a housewarming gift, pink and white pinstripe. The top was a long sleeve button up while the bottoms were shorts, they were way cuter than my t-shirt and spanks.  With my back to Jim I quickly changed before I walked over to turn off the gas fireplace. I glanced back at Jim who was drooling into the pillow fast asleep. Our meeting wasn't till ten, which was plenty of time for him to sleep the alcohol away. I should probably grab his suitcase from his room, he can get ready here while I grab breakfast in the morning. Walking over to his unconscious body I reached into his pockets, pulling his room key and phone out. I placed his phone on the nightstand before making my way out of the bedroom. Thankfully Jim’s room was right next to mine, with a swipe of the key card I entered the dark room. His suitcase was waiting on his bed, untouched. I grabbed it and headed back to my room, where Jim’s snores were echoing into the hallway. I spent a few minutes pulling his suit out for tomorrow, and hanging it on the hook on the back of the closet door, along with his shoes underneath them. We actually took time out of our day Monday to pick his suit and I wasn't expecting the comical struggle.

“Pam!” Jim called from his office. I could feel my ears perk up as I was standing at the coffee machine listening to Andy singing ‘Closing Time’ for the fifth time this morning.

“Coming!” I yelled as I quickly walked to his office, grabbing my notebook along the way. Walking in I was surprised to see Jim sitting in the middle of the room with three suits hanging along his window in front of him. “Oh boy.”

“Yup,” he said, while patting the seat of the empty chair next to him. I quickly sat down next to him, while crossing my legs and opening my notebook. “I gotta pick a monkey suit for Wednesday.” Jim had an on going war with his suits, he believed that he was being restricted he once compared them to straight jackets.  Which I guess I could see, but really he was just amazing to look at in a fine tailored suit.

“Hmm,” I hummed while I glanced over all three. Our color options were grey, blue, and black. The grey instantly caught my attention, just by the way it caught the light in a metallic matter. “What are we looking for?”

“Make me your sports marketer.” he said, with a sideways glance at me and that smirk that made my stomach flip. “Now.”

“Well,” I began, “Black is too boring.”

“Done.” he huffed as he got to his feet and took down the black one, and draped it over a file cabinet. Placing his hands on his hips, he began to rock back and forth while looking over the two suits. I found my eyes beginning to skim over his back side, Jim literally had the greatest body I've ever seen, besides those ones on men's magazines. He was quite tall and lanky but nowhere near unfit. I overheard Kelly and Karen in the breakroom talking about how good Jim looked in his work out gear. Apparently during the cooler months, he would go out for a run on lunch, or in the morning. “Grey or blue, Beesly?” Jim asked, while pulling me from my day dream.

“Personally, I feel the grey suit is very sleek, while the blue is just so unoriginal.” I stated, Jim reached up to grab the blue suit and draped it over the black one.

“Great,” he breathed while smiling back at me. “Don’t know what I’d do without you Beesly.”

I made the conscious choice to sleep on the love seat instead of the bed, mostly because Jim was sleeping diagonally with his feet dangling off the edge. Karen was also beginning to haunt my thoughts. Were we just a potential fling last weekend? Is this a habit of his? Doesn’t matter, we’re coworkers, he’s my boss and nothing more. I need to just forget about this and focus on my job. Grabbing the throw blanket from the foot of the bed I curled up on the loveseat, and too my surprise I fell asleep.

I woke up to the sounds of traffic outside as Toronto began its busy morning. Getting to my feet I saw Jim still passed out on the bed, blankets were tossed everywhere while his legs dangled off. The time on my phone read eight twenty, which still left plenty of time to get ready. While Jim was still asleep I took the opportunity to change into my clothes for today. Isabel took me out to purchase an outfit for the occasion, she has it in her mind that it would seduce Jim, even with that tiny gleam of hope all I could think about is who was next after me. I went with a pair of black, straight, ankle slacks, with a black and white striped blouse that I tucked in. I finished it off with a slim black business coat and pair of white pumps. When I was younger my mom always told me a women could conquer all in the right pair of heels. And right now I felt extremely sexy. Pulling the hair tie out my hair fell into soft curls around my shoulders. Makeup was always very simple for me, a quick swipe of mascara and a little lipgloss and I was done.

Exiting the bathroom I decided to wake up Jim so he could shower while I went down to get coffee and breakfast. With his head pressed into the pillow I began to shake his shoulder. After a few minutes of moaning he finally opened his eyes which were filled with confusion.

“Pam?” he croaked, while he lifted his head up and looked around the room. “Where am I?” he asked, while dragging himself up against the headboard. I could feel his eyes on me, and couldn't help the fact that I was pushing my chest out to appear slimmer. “Wow.” he began as he eyed me up and down, but I cut him off.

“We’re in my room,” I said dryly. “You were a bit wasted last night.” I explained, while looking at his hair that was sticking up in multiple directions. “I brought your clothes over from your room, I’m gonna head down to get breakfast so you can shower.” I quickly began to head out the door, ignoring the calls of my name as I made my way towards the elevator. Why was I even upset? He has the right to date, and sleep with whoever he wants and so do I. Even though I’d prefer if it was him. I loaded on to the elevator and mentally kicked myself for even getting upset. You should know that this wasn’t even going to go anywhere. The elevator doors opened and I made my way along the tiled floor to the cafe, which was basically a Starbucks. Then with two blueberry muffins in my hand, along with a tea and a black coffee, I headed back up to my room. Once inside I could hear the shower running along with the sounds of sports talk radio. Placing his coffee and muffin on the nightstand I turned my attention to loading our bookbags for the presentation. In that moment I realized my notebook wasn’t there, I must have left it in Roy’s car.

“Shit.” I grumbled, while packing more pamphlets away, along with my backup notebook and pen.

“What's wrong?” Glancing over my shoulder I saw Jim walking out of the steamy bathroom with only a towel wrapped around his waist. Jesus.

“Nothing,” I replied, and turned my attention back to packing. Jim’s bag has his copy of the presentation, and notes to follow. While mine contained the laptop, the presentation files for them to follow along, also the pricing pamphlets. “The car will be here at nine thirty.”

“Thanks for taking care of me, Beesly.” I could hear him shuffling around in his suitcase. “Guess we're even now, hopefully I wasn’t too much trouble.” The fact that he couldn't even remember last night made me feel a little better. At least this way he won’t realize how I had reacted to him, my humiliation can be my own.

“Yup.” I mumbled, my back still turned to him.

“Everything alright?” he asked, I could hear the concern in his voice.

“I’m fine.” I replied, while crossing my arms, begging that he had clothes on, he was making it way too difficult to keep focus on work like I had planned.

“I have pants on.” I finally turned to face him, and he indeed had pants on but that was all, he was still shirtless and glistening. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you use one syllable words.” It’s true, I was always good at expressing my feelings, and right now I didn’t want to explain anything, I just wanted to finish this presentation and head home.

“Just tired.” I lied, while watching him pull on his black button up.

“You could have slept in the bed, you dork.” I could tell he was trying his best to lighten the mood, but I wasn’t giving in. “Seriously Pam,” he said, his voice showing concern as he tucked in his shirt and watched me. I dragged my eyes up from the carpet and locked with his.

“You told me last night that you haven’t had sex since Karen.” I whispered. I watched as his expressions went from ‘oh shit’ to guilt. “I guess she didn’t fall asleep on you, did she?”

“No, Pam.” he said, while shaking his head. “It wasn’t like that. We actually dated.” That stung even more. He was willing to work and date her, but couldn’t have that with me, I was beginning to feel more and more like a sexual conquest. “I should have told you.”

“Doesn’t matter Jim,”  I answered quickly, while pulling on my book bag. Checking my phone I saw it was close enough to nine thirty that I could wait down stairs for the car. Grabbing my phone and tea I began to head to the door. “You can do whoever you want.” He quickly reached out grabbing my arm and pulling me to a stop before him, his damn body wash was rising into my nose making it difficult to think.

“Pam, Sunday wasn’t about just doing you -” I snapped my head up at him, trying to not look like I was going to cry.

“I’m not talking about Sunday Jim!” I almost shouted. “Last night you came here telling me how badly you needed me, how badly you wanted to feel me, and the thought of Roy touching me made you sick.” I could see all the shock in his eyes while I filled him in on last night. “And I gave in Jim! I gave in to kissing you, to letting you touch me and feel me and then you tell me that? I can’t do that, Jim. I can’t assist you with that.” Yanking my arm from his I raced out of the room without one glace back, mentally thanking myself for waterproof mascara.

Jim’s POV

Holy shit. I felt like the wind was knocked out of me as I watched Pam run out of the room for the second time this morning. My head was still pounding due to the amount of alcohol I consumed last night and the lack of water. And for the life of me I couldn’t remember anything from last night. I remember the multiple drinks and the walk home but I thought I made it to my room and crashed out. I reached for the cup of coffee and downed about half of it as I pulled on my suit jacket and grabbed my bookbag before running out into the hall, she was already gone. On the elevator I stuffed my face with the blueberry muffin while I checked email, my mind still racing about Pam. Did I actually touch her? Did we sleep together? Or just kiss. The fog around my head began to lift as I walked across the lobby to the front doors, once outside I could see Pam loading into a Black Escalade. I finished off my muffin before I climbed in behind her, she basically squeezed herself against the door as she fiddled with her phone, she appeared to be texting. I could tell by her neck she must have been crying, her skin was flushed a light red.

The drive was short and silent as we made our way to the Raptors arena. I almost about banged my head against the glass trying to get myself to remember last night. I remember dinner with the board and the round of shots, Bobby was quite the drinker, I recalled them going to a bar nearby but I decided to head to the hotel. Instead of a taxi I choose to walk, hoping that I could clear my head. I do remember how upset I was that Pam was out with that sportscaster. I remember how upset I was when I loaded onto the elevator. Instead of going to my room I was banging on her door. And when she answered I almost fell over, she smelled of roses and was only wearing a robe. I could feel myself harden at the memory of her glistening skin covered only by a bathrobe, her hair was damp and her face glowed. I couldn’t remember a word I said when I was in her room, just that I kept pulling her to me. Oh my god I kissed her. I did more than that. Flashes of her gorgeous chest went through my mind, I grunted to myself as I crossed my legs to hide the apparent hard on that I had. I finally had her perfect pink nipple between my lips and I tell her about sex with Karen? Jesus, Jim what the hell? You finally get the girl who you have had countless dreams and moments in the shower about, and you go on about your ex? But why is she so angry? Because it was Karen, or that she and I are working together? Karen and I were dating before I brought her on at Athlead, my dedication to the job is actually what broke us up, she felt that I was too invested, and also that I wasn't asking her to move in with me when I got my new house. I liked Karen a lot, but it just didn't feel right. So when she said those three daunting words and I never replied, we pretty much knew it was over.

“Pam,” I began but she waved her hand at me, cutting me off.

“Jim please, I really don’t want to do this.” she whispered, her eyes never leaving the window. “I just want to get through this presentation and go home.” The fact that she wanted to get away from me so quickly was painful.

“Pam, you have to let me explain.” I begged. “You and Karen are two completely separate deals.”

“But you dated her, Jim.” she said, exasperated. “You dated her, and almost slept with me twice and the common denominator is that we both work for you.” It sounded way worse as she explained it. It’s true, it looked bad. Like that creepy boss creeping on the young girls. “I don’t want to be a fling, or the office mattress Jim.” The car came to the stop outside of the Raptors building, before the driver could even park she flung the door open and escaped from the car.

“Pam!” I yelled while I tried to scramble after her. Even in heels she was quick, but soon I was following her angry stride. “We dated for eight months, and broke up more than six months ago. There are no similarities between the two of you.”

“The fact that we need to be compared is the problem!” she huffed while throwing open the lobby door. I quickly followed behind, trying desperately to keep my eyes from wandering over her perfect body. I never even told tell her how beautiful she looked. Too busy telling her about my lack of sex. “Hello,” she said through tight lips to the receptionist. “We have a presentation scheduled with Bobby at ten.”

“Of course, he’ll be right down.” the receptionist said as she pressed the phone to her ear.

“Pam, we have to talk about this.” I whispered to her. She made no acknowledgment to my statement as she continued to text on her phone. Who the hell was she even talking to?

“We really don’t.” she mumbled, before finally looking up at me. “We’re coworkers, and we’ll always be coworkers.” I could feel my chest cave at her harsh words. Even from day one I never considered her my employee or coworker, she was my friend, and by this time yesterday my partner in crime.

“Pam-” My sentence was cut short due to the dinging sound of the elevator doors opening revealing Bobby.

“Jimbo!” he cheered, as he threw a hand out for a strong shake, I gripped it tightly while plastering a fake smile along my lips. “You ready?’

“Oh yes,” I said, as convincing as I could while following him to the elevator. The sound of Pam’s heels clicking along the tile floor was the only assurance I had that she was following. Loading the elevator I couldn’t ignore the fact that she made a blatant attempt to stand as far away from me as possible. Her rose scent still lingered of course along with the uncomfortable tension between us. I needed to try to focus, with some deep breaths my head was beginning to calm as the elevator neared our floor. “I can tell you the board is very excited to see the ideas you have instore for us.” Bobby said, when we finally loaded off the tortuous ride and made our way into a large conference room. I recognized multiple men from last night, along with some new ones. It was a  large half circle table that left plenty of room for me to walk around. While I made my way around the room to great some of the men I noticed Pam began setting up the laptop in the back for the presentation to go along. After that she began to neatly lay out the presentation packets along with the pricing pamphlets. Just by the way she was carefully leaning over, I knew for a fact I wasn’t the only man in the room with my eyes on her. And I hated that, and then of course, one more man walked in to make my crappy day worse.

“There she is!”

Chapter 8

Pam’s POV

“There she is!” Glancing over my should I watched as Roy entered the room, his eyes only on me as he made his way over. “And, my god, does she look beautiful.” I could feel my cheeks burning as the blood rushed to my cheeks.

“Thank you,” I said, with the lightest smile. “You don’t look too shabby yourself.” I said while I looked him once over. He was wearing a suit much like everyone else in the room, but of course he had his sleeves rolled up over his massive forearms.

“That’s all you’ve got after I protected your precious notebook?” he teased, while revealing my notebook from behind his back. I tried not to notice Jim watching us but he wasn’t even trying to hide it, while Bobby was speaking with him he was all but facing Roy and me.

“Oh my god, you’re a savior.” I groaned, while slipping it into my bag.

“No big deal,” he said, while flashing me his wicked grin. “You know, you could pay me back with that date.” he asserted. I felt my lips twitch but before I could respond Bobby was calling the meeting together. Handing Roy the last pricing pamphlet I went to the back to claim my lone seat.

“Good Morning everybody.” Jim began as he walked to the front of the room.  I did my best to keep my eyes focused elsewhere as he made his way back and forth along the front of the room. “My name is Jim and I am CEO and President of Athlead.” I found myself tuning Jim out for this was my fifteenth time hearing this sales pitch and I don't think I could do it again.  But of course that led my mind back to last night, to the memories that were going to haunt me for quite some time. Remembering the sensation I felt when his beard tickled along the base of my throat, or how ginormous his hands felt against my hips, and his perfect lips around my nipple. I suddenly crossed my legs finding myself getting easily aroused at my thoughts. Had it seriously been that long, Pam?

“Sorry to interrupt you man but I gotta add something,” I was snapped back to reality at the sound of Roy’s voice drowning over Jim’s. I watched shocked as Roy made his way to the front of the room clearly blocking Jim. “I just gotta let you gentlemen know that even though these designs are amazing, I think I actually have better, done by an artist right in this very room.”

“Oh my god.” I said, while my eyes connected with Jims. Roy then began to handout photo copies of my Toronto doodles to all of the men around the table.

“These were done by that gorgeous girl in the back of the room. I know you have all seen her, don’t lie, no one can pass up those legs in those pants.” Lord, strike me now. I gave a pathetic small wave as the men looked back at me, I could feel the red heat of embarrassment crawling up my skin. “Her name is Pam Beesly and she is an amazing artist, and has my vote for the new design. I just want you fellas to consider her with the others,” he said, while they continued to look over my drawing and I continued to slump lower into my seat. ‘Alright, I’m done. Floors yours, Halpert.” My jaw was hanging open as Roy made his way back to his seat. I can’t believe he actually handed out my drawing, I can’t believe he went through my notebook actually, that was giant invasion of my privacy. But a great opportunity.

“Right,” Jim grunted while trying to find his place again. “Like I was saying, all of these designs can be tweaked to exactly what you guys are looking for.”

“Actually Jim, these are pretty amazing,” Bobby said, while he continued to look over my drawings. “Would we be able to get a price point on these.” I leaned my head into my hand, this can’t actually be happening.

“Of course,” Jim said, through tight lips. I could tell he wasn’t happy, neither was I entirely. He went through my notebook and photo copied my drawings, that was a huge invasion of my privacy. I understand Jim and I weren’t in the greatest spot at the moment but I would have never done this.

“Especially with these jerseys,” Bobby stressed while tapping the tip of his pen on the paper. “I want these going out as soon as possible, in time for the first home game.”  Holy crap, that’s only a few weeks away.

“I can get you that price point by the end of the day,” Jim muttered with a forced smile, god he must feel so awful.

“Then you’ve got a contract.” The room erupted in a calm applause as one by one the board members got to their feet to shake Jim’s hand. I quickly got to my feet to pack the laptop back into my bag before turning to head towards Jim, but I was quickly stopped in my tracks as Roy swooped me into his arms.

“Congrats, Pammy!” he cheered, as he lowered me to my feet, I took two noticeable steps back, my eyes still watching Jim.

“Thanks,” I managed. “I can’t believe you did that.”

“Pam, your art was the prettiest of all the art.” Excuse me what? I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep myself from laughing.

“Thanks, Roy.” I finally answered while looking around his shoulder at Jim. He had his hands deep in his pockets as he conversed with an older gentleman. All I wanted was to explain to him that I had nothing to do with that. “Roy, could you excuse me for a moment?”

“Sure, I’ll meet you downstairs, we’ll drive together.” It completely slipped my mind that the company was heading out to lunch after this.

“Sounds great,” I lied, while slipping past him towards Jim.

“Were gonna meet downstairs in ten, great job Halpert.” Bobby said before patting Jim on the back and filing out of the hall with the rest of the board.

“Hey,” I whispered, as I approached Jim, who had his back turned towards the door. He turned to look over his shoulder at me and his expression was enough to explain how he felt.

“Hey,” he replied, and began to pack up his bag. “Congrats.”

“Jim, I had nothing to do with that.” I began. “I forgot my notebook in his car, and he must have seen my designs in there.”

“It’s fine.” he replied, and my stomach began to turn into knots. Against my better judgement I reached out to grab a hold of his hand. I didn’t say anything for a moment, just enjoyed the feeling of his hand in mine.

“Hey,” I said slowly, “Seriously that was the last thing I wanted, I didn’t want my art out there, I didn’t want to ruin your presentation, I’d rather shoot myself.” I felt my shoulders ease as a small smile spread across his lips.

“Shoot yourself?” he repeated. “That’s being a bit dramatic don’t you think?” We both let out a small chuckle and just like that we were Jim and Pam again. “Come on,” he urged as he motioned me towards the door. “We’ve got a celebration waiting for us.”

Jim’s POV

She was glowing. I couldn’t stop staring at her from across the table as she conversed with Bobby and another board member about her jersey ideas. I was ignoring the fact that Roy had his arm draped over her shoulder, that was after two attempts of her brushing him off. My confidence was soaring after she grabbed my hand and told Roy she was going to take a cab with me instead. We were almost back to normal after last nights mishap. We were going to have to talk about it, I couldn’t let her go back to work and have Kelly or Dwight spin nonsense through her head.

“What time is your flight out Halpert?” Bobby asked, breaking me from my train of thought.

“Six in the morning.” I replied before taking another swig of my beer. The celebratory lunch continued on and on and so did the drinks. I kept it to a minimum so I could monitor Pam’s intake but she stuck to water the whole evening.

“Well, we’ll have to get you out here again soon, you can meet with Ross Atkins with the Blue Jays.” I could feel my ears perk with the thought of another international contract.

“That would be amazing,” I answered, while thinking through how we could get out here again with new material for MLB, they had a number of jerseys and marketing for them. Home and away jerseys, throwback jerseys, cancer awareness jerseys.

“Think you could get another pitch together with some of Van Gogh’s art over here.” Bobby teased, while bumping shoulders with Pam. “It’d have to be within three weeks, to make it in time for spring training.” I raised a brow at Pam, it would be completely up to her if we could get together a pitch by then, it was going to be a definite time crunch. But with her nod of encouragement I felt myself souring.

“I’m sure we can make that work.” I answered Bobby while watching Pam smile brightly.

“Good to hear Jim, I’ll have him contact you, and I’ll set up a lunch too.” Bobby said while he got to his feet and began to pull on his coat. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I promised my wife I’d actually be home tonight.” I gave his hand one last shake before he left, a couple more board members began to follow till it was only Roy, Pam and I.

“Pam, why don’t we head downtown?” Roy suggested and I could feel my shoulders slack. “Get this celebration going.”

“Actually, I think I’m gonna head back to the hotel.” I watched her eyes quickly flick to mine then away. “I didn't sleep well last night,” she added. Because I was too busy complaining about my sex life and hogging the bed.

“Come on Pammy!” Roy cheered. “Come have some fun.” I had to drink some water to swallow the nausea I felt when he winked at her.

“Sleep sounds more appealing.” she insisted, while getting to her feet. I quickly followed to avoid him driving her home, I needed to talk to her about last night, and more. There were a lot of issues that needed to be cleared. “But I’ll call you.” Please God, let that be a lie.

“You better,” he smiled before he planted a kiss on her cheek. She quickly ducked under his arm towards my direction and we quickly made our way through the exit.

“Night Roy.” I called, with a small smile on my lips. “Hey, the hotel isn’t too far from here if you’re up for a walk?” That would also give me more time to talk to her.

“Okay, but if I get tired you have to carry me,” she warned while gesturing to her heels.

“I can agree to a solid piggy back ride.” I agreed. We walked in silence for a bit, the sound of her heels clicking against the pavement echoed between us, along with Toronto’s busy traffic. Come on Halpert, speak!

“So last night,” I breathed.

“Oh, we don’t have to talk about this.” she said, quickly as she wrapped her arms around herself clearly cold. I quickly shrugged off my coat to drape it over her shoulders.

“We should.” I insisted. “It’s not fair to you Pam, to not know what’s going on.” I paused to measure her reaction, but she continued to walk alongside me silently.  “Karen and I dated for eight months been broken up for about 6 now, we were actually friends back in college then she worked at the same paper company, just a different branch. When Darryl and I left to do Athlead full time, we took some co-workers with us, that caused the two branches to merge together. We lost contact for a couple years, till we ran into each other at a charity event two years ago, her mom had a small italian catering company and she was there serving appetizers.” I paused to make sure I wasn't boring her to death. “We had a chance to catch up, and she told me how the entire paper company had actually gone under and she was working with her mom till she found something a bit more permanent. Athlead was doing so well and we were just about to move into the new building so I offered her a sales position with us. So she made the move to Philly and that kind of got the ball rolling. Few coffee dates, couple movies and we just gave it a shot. When I started Athlead it was me just doing something that I loved part time, and when it got big I was still doing what I love but full time. Karen pointed out a couple times that I needed to change my look, I needed to dress the part. Get a suit, cut my hair, ditch the beard.”

“Oh,” Pam said, like she had an epiphany. “To not look homeless, right?”

“Is that sarcasm from, Beesly?” I asked in shock. She let out her beautiful laugh, that seemed to echo off the buildings of Toronto.

“Possibly,” she teased. “But go on.”

“So I ditched the homeless attire, got the monkey suits and some cologne and it helped. We seemed to get in more sales and contracts and it was everything I wanted. It changed things, I was thoroughly invested in the job, late nights, long weekends, traveling all the time I was never really home and if I was, I was passed out in my apartment exhausted. We’d fight about it, she never got to see me unless it was at work, she felt like I was too involved and was taking on more than Andy and Darryl. So she offered,” I paused. “Well strongly suggested that we move in together, four months into the relationship.”

“Well, that’s not terrible, she just missed you.”  she chimed in.

“You’re right,” I agreed. “And if that meant less fighting I was all for it. So she moved in, but I was still working hard and we landed a major ad with Converse, it was just nuts. With more success more fighting ensued, she was unhappy with everything; I was never home, the apartment was too small and smelled like booze all the time, we need to buy a house, we need a new car, we need to invest. I love you, do you love me?”

“Did you love her?” Pam asked gently when I fell silent.

“No, I didn’t.” I whispered. “And I couldn’t tell her why, I didn’t even know why. She said it and I just.” I shook my head. “I just stared at her.”

“You don’t have to know why,” Pam pointed out, as we crossed the final street down from the hotel. “You just know when you do. And maybe she didn’t either, she loved who she made. Clean and tidy Halpert.” I laughed at her comment towards my cleanliness. “Not the disorganized chaos who we have here now.”

“Don’t know what I’d do without you Pam,” I found myself saying. “This week would have been a disaster.”

“I doubt that,” she said, as we walked into the lobby of the hotel. It was still fairly early but I was exhausted.

“I would have ended up losing the skids along the way.” I could feel myself getting nervous as we loaded the elevator that began the ascent to our rooms.

“Mr. Halpert are you telling me that you didn’t create those drawings yourself?” she asked, with her eyebrows raised in mock expression.

“Not everyone is as talented as you Ms. Beesly.” I pointed out as I followed her off the elevator and towards our rooms. “I should probably grab my stuff.”

“Oh yeah,” she said as she fumbled to unlock the door to her room. I could feel my hands begin to sweat as I followed her into the room where we almost had sex, yet again. My suitcase was already waiting by the edge of her neatly made bed, the evidence that the maids were here.

“So five am tomorrow?” she asked, while I made my way back towards the hallway.

“Yes ma’am,” I replied as I turned towards her. My chest was pounding as I looked down at her beautiful face while she leaned against the door frame. I don’t think I could ever wrap my head around just how beautiful she is. Well now is your chance Jim. Taking a deep breath I reached out with both hands to cup the sides of her face as I pressed my lips against hers. And that was the second time in twenty four hours that I kissed my assistant.

Chapter 9

Jim’s POV

This kiss was a million miles away compared to the others. No alcohol, no desperation or sexual desire. Just that first date kiss, drop her off at home by nine kind of kiss. I gently cupped the back of her head with my hand while wrapping my arm around her waist. God she was perfect, her lips were smooth, her breath sweet, and her hair was soft, I couldn't get enough. But eventually we had to come up for air, when I pulled away her eyes were sparkling as she looked up at me with her beautiful smile.

“Hey,” I whispered as I wrapped my other arm around her to pull her closer. We fit just like puzzle pieces, one tall and short puzzle piece.

“Hi,” she sighed as she rested her hands on my chest.

“I just had to try that once sober,” I laughed, my head was still coming down from cloud nine. “Hopefully still good.” I said it in a laughing matter but not really. Was I a shitty kisser sober?

“Possibly better,” she replied, still smiling.

“Oh,” I groaned. “Don’t want to set that bar too high.” She let out that gorgeous laugh that always made me smile.

“I’m sure you can find a way to beat it,” she assured me, but I could see a question resting on her lips. “But what does this mean exactly?” Honestly I had no clue either. Well I had an idea obviously, I really liked Pam, I hated the idea of her with other men. So just date her already. But these next three weeks are going to be so busy, I’ll be pulling eighteen hour days, weekends, and over nights possibly.

“Pam I like you.” Great start Halpert. ”I really like you, but I want to do this right. You deserve the nice date; dinner, a movie, expensive wine, all of it. And in these next three weeks I won’t be able to do that.” And don’t want a repeat of Karen. Well honestly I was probably using my career as an excuse.

“Yeah, but you should know cheap pizza and stale beer is my favorite.” she said and my heart almost flew out of my chest,

“Don’t test me, Beesly.” I laughed, there was no way she was serious, no women is serious about a casual date.

“No seriously Jim,” she insisted. “That’s very sweet but not important to me.” I reached up to brush her hair behind her ear, drifting my fingers along her skin. “And it makes sense, since we will be together the next three weeks. Beer and pizza sounds great.”

“Then it’s a date,” I replied before I leaned down to press my lips against hers, I pulled her closer, melting into her and she sighed into my mouth.

“But,” she interjected while pulling her lips from mine. “What about work?”

“A little secrecy wouldn’t kill them.” I said out loud as I thought about our nosy neighbors.

“Well, when Kelly find out, and she will,” she pointed out. “What about Karen?” Oh yeah, Karen. Well this wouldn’t be too weird right? Break up with someone I’ve known for years, and never had time for, to date someone I just met and constantly wanted to be around.

“That shouldn’t be a problem,” I lied. “But once they catch wind, I’ll talk to Karen.” I reassured her.

“Sounds like a plan,” she said before letting out a yawn. We were both exhausted and only had a day to recuperate before it all began again Monday.

“Alright bedtime, I’m expecting you five am sharp, better not be late.” I teased, as I grabbed the handle of my luggage and began to make my way out of the room again. I desperately wanted to stay and lay in the plush bed with her in my arms, but this was just the beginning, there was so much time.

“I think you have me confused with someone else,” she said, while holding the door open for me. I took the one last moment I had to turn on my heel and lean down to place one last kiss on her lips. I kept it light and quick, because any longer and I  might not leave.

“Night Pam.”

“Night Jim,” she whispered, before closing the door tightly behind me. Sliding the key card into my own door I could feel the smile on my face as I thought to myself. I got the girl.

****

Monday was a painfully early morning. I arrived to work around six am, after talking to Pam until about midnight the night before so I was a bit exhausted. But I didn’t regret it a single bit and I was excited to see her after our short weekend. After we landed Friday we drove our separate ways home only to call each other once we got home. She told me she was driving to New York the next day for her nephew Jacks first birthday. We weren’t able to talk a whole lot, just her drive over and the few pictures she sent me of Jack with his cake and presents. And when she returned last night we spent another two hours on the phone, not sure how we managed that but we did.

Today jump started the long three weeks we were about to endure. Well me, I wasn’t going to force Pam to stay later than she needed to, but the thought of her company sounded amazing. Parking my car I left the vehicle and made my way up the steps and into the building. With it nearing the end of October it was pretty cold outside. The gears in my head were turning as I sipped my coffee and waited for the elevator to crawl to the third floor. Today was really about nailing down a game plan and schedule for what we needed to prepare for Toronto. Walking off the elevator I was surprised to see my office lights on, and as I krept closer I was even more surprised to see Pam sitting on the ground organizing a filing cabinet.

“Pam?” I asked, while looking around my office. There was plenty still to organize, but half of the disaster was actually cleaned and organized. I could actually see the wood of my desk, that appeared to be polished as well. Laying in front of her were three sets of different colored sharpies along with a label maker.

“Morning!” she cheered while getting to her feet. Even at six am she was gorgeous, she was wearing very business casual suit today, grey ankle slacks, with a grey sports coat and my favorite silk top of hers. The one she never wears a bra with and sometimes I’d get a lucky glance down it. I had to shove my hand in my pocket to adjust my tightening trousers while I looked down at her white keds.

“Those have to be the whitest Keds I have ever seen,” I laughed while placing my messenger bag onto my desk. “What time did you get here?”

“Four thirty?” she guessed. “I couldn’t sleep, there were like ten police officers with their stupid sirens going off last night.” she complained, and I ignored the slight turn in my stomach. “So, I came in early.”

“You have to be exhausted,” I pointed out, while noticing an empty starbucks cup in the small trash can.

“Not too bad, actually.” she replied and gestured to the room. “I tackled as much as I could.”

“It looks great!” I praised, while putting my hands on my hips and examining her work. “How many years did you get through?”

“Four.” she answered, and pointed to the file cabinets behind her. “Those are 2010-2014, I can finish those tomorrow. But how about the Blue Jays?” She crossed her arms, and I bit my lip when I noticed her nipples were peaked through. It was pretty cold in here.

“Well,” I cleared my throat. “Spring Training starts in March and the uniform cut off is January, so the designs will be sent for measurements after we get the contract signed,” I nodded towards her notebook on the floor. “Have any designs yet?”

“Yes actually!” Picking up her notebook she shuffled through the pages, to pull up her sketches. “I did a design for their throwback jerseys as well.”

“Did you even sleep last night?” I chuckled while looking over her designs, they were amazing, just awesome.

“Nope, too busy talking with some weirdo on the phone last night.” she teased while wagging her eyebrows. She stayed close as I flipped through her notebook, the scent of roses coming off her was making my head cloudy, and all I could think about was kissing her.

“Pam, these are amazing.” I said, as I flipped through the multiple drawings. She had such an amazing talent. It wouldn’t be too hard to get a marketing department here right? “Let’s get these to Karen,” I watched her eyes drop. “Tell her to get them on a large skid and finalize them,” I handed the notebook back to her. “And we’ll get Kelly to draw up the contract, and have Oscar book the same hotel and a rental car this time.” I felt slightly weird asking her to do things, but I couldn’t pay her to be my girlfriend. Well I could, but was she even my girlfriend?

“Should I call Nick too?” she asked, referring to the pilot of our jet. The idea of booking an extra night to celebrate popped in my head, but that would have to be on my own dime.

“That would be great,” I replied just as the ding of the elevator went off. Darryl and Andy unloaded, ruining my chances of being able to kiss her.

“Large Tuna!” Andy yelled while barrelling into my office to hug me. The smell of his cologne was strong enough to make me pass out. I missed Pam’s rose scent already. “Congrats on Toronto man!”

“Thanks buddy,” I said while pulling away to shake Darryl’s hand, trying my best to keep my eyes off Pam who went back to organizing papers.

“The team is putting together a party for Friday night for some Karaoke.” Darryl said. That had Kelly’s name written all over it. “Think you’d be able to leave here on time and join.”

“We can probably manage that.” I paused as Darryl gave me a side glance with a smirk. “ I can- I can probably make- I’ll be there.” Good one, Halpert. Pam continued to shuffle papers but I could see the smile playing on the corner of her lips. We’ve got this. We can keep this secret. Whatever the secret was exactly.

Pam’s POV

My first week back from Canada and my first week since Jim and I aired everything out has been very busy. No so much for Jim and me, we haven’t kissed since Friday or really discussed anything since. We talk every night, usually a couple of hours, about anything and everything. Family, college, favorite movies, places to visit, what we’d do if we won the lottery, literally anything. But we never reached the discussion about our relationship and I was anxious for karaoke tonight. I woke up early as usual, my fifth night in a row without sleep. Since I’ve returned back to my apartment, every night there is some sort of craziness outside. Police, fire trucks, couples arguing, more police, car crash and even more police. This time it was three am and the unwelcome alarm was the sound of rabid dogs fighting. I had no other choice but to get up and get ready for the day. After work was the celebratory Toronto party so I needed to chose a work slash Friday night party outfit. It was also Jim and my first night out since Canada. So I went for an old tan denim skirt of mine from college, or was it Isabel’s? It was probably a tad short, but sexy and cute. Maybe we’ll have sex. I paired the skirt with a black, fuzzy knitted crop sweater and my black keds. The sweater was so thick it didn’t require a bra necessarily. By the time I finished my hair and makeup it was four thirty which by the time I got to work it would be 5:10-5:20. Grabbing my keys and messenger bag I made my way down the dark staircase and out of the apartment to my car. My pink pea coat didn't protect me very much from the cool October air. Of course there was a car accident across the street, looked like a drunk idiot hit the new stop sign they just put in. Climbing into my car, I pushed the keys in the ignition and was greeted with a click.

“No.” I grumbled while turning them again and was greeted with another click. A few more time and the same results. “Fuck.” I groaned and banged my head against the steering wheel. Of course this would fall on the day right before I get paid, I currently had enough money to get food tonight at Poor Richard and maybe a drink. I couldn’t afford an Uber to work, that would be at least forty dollars. I reached over to grab my phone and checked the time. It was barely four thirty and Jim went to bed around eleven, maybe twelve when we finally got off the phone. He’s probably still sleeping. But maybe he isn’t? Unlocking my phone I scrolled through my contacts until I fell on Jim Halpert. After a few seconds of debating I finally hit the call button and placed it to my ear. After three rings my stomach began to turn nervously until he finally picked up.

“Pam?” He asked, thankfully not sounding tired.

“Hey,” I said lamely. “Sorry, did I wake you?”

“Oh, no. “ he said, quickly. “Well yeah, if you count sleeping in the shower.” His corny joke eased me immediately as I sank into my cold seat. “Everything okay?”

“Yeah,” I lied. “Well, my car died and I don’t exactly have,” I paused and banged my head against the headrest as I thought of a better way to tell my rich boss that I’m broke. “Well I don’t have enough-“

“I’ll come get you,” he interjected. I paused and listened to the tone of his voice, it didn’t contain frustration or annoyance.

“Really?” I asked surprised. “It’s like a forty minute drive.” I reminded him and then immediately mentally kicked myself, why am I trying to talk him out of this?

“Oh,” he hissed. “Hmm, well since you mentioned that, can it Beesly, I’m coming for you.” He finished more sternly and I bit my lip to contain my large smile.

“You’re a lifesaver,” I said, while tilting my keys in my hand.

“Now remember that the next time I ask you to organize my office.” He added while grunting. He sounded like he was trying to juggle his cell phone and pull on pants at the same time. “I’m heading out now.”

“Thank you so much, Jim.” I sighed into the phone.

“Don’t mention it,” he replied before hanging up. Putting my phone back in my bag my cheeks were beginning to become sore from my smile. The same smile I had when I visited my mom and sister this weekend.

“Pam!” My sister screamed as she walked into the kitchen where I was sitting with my parents and enjoying some coffee. Well coffee for them, tea for me. It was Sunday, and my second day in New York with my parents. I came up to celebrate Jack’s first birthday and decided to stay the night for a visit. “Mom says you have a boyfriend.” she stated, as she sat down in the seat next to me. I shot my mom a sharp look as she gave me a small shrug while my dad grumbled something about ‘Philly men are crooks’ and excused himself from the room. I only just told my mom about Jim last night, while we watched Legally Blonde for the millionth time.

“I don’t.” I said cooly, while sipping my tea and fighting the urge to pull my cell phone out and text Jim again, It’s only been a day and I really missed him. Well his company… Okay I missed him. After we parted ways Friday and I was left with a kiss on the cheek, I missed him.

“Is it your hot boss?” she pressed, while stealing half my bagel.

“I’m not dating anyone,” I lied and chewed on my lip.

“Liar,” she stated. “Pam I’ve known you for twenty four years, you bite your lip when you lie.”

“Do not!” I laughed into my mug and looked at my mom for help.

“Your boss is pretty cute.” My mom added.

“Right?” Isabel agreed. “Did you see him on that ESPN issue? He’s targeted to be the most successful sports marketer in the US.”

“Soon to be Canada,” I mumbled and finished my tea.

“I’ve been trying to get Steve to grow a beard like that but he can’t.” Oh my god they were impossible. “So did you guys hook up?”

“Okay weirdo,” I said while getting up to take my mug to the sink. “No we didn’t.” Almost. But didn’t.

“Well tell us Pammy, damn!” She cried as I leaned against the counter. “I know you’re hiding something from us, something juicy. Were you guys sober?”

“Yes we were sober,” Mostly. “It’s just complicated, we said how we feel but we have these next few weeks that are going to be very busy and we won’t have time for dating.” I explained.

“What about that newscaster guy, the big one?” I shot another glare towards my mother, she never keeps things to herself.

“Roy was nice,” I said. “And cute, but I’m pretty sure he invaded my privacy just so he can get into my panties.”

“Let him!” My mom basically shouted causing both Isabel and me to stare at her in shock. “Pammy, you’re so young and have plenty of time to search for ‘the one’ you should just enjoy yourself and if the hot sportscaster wants to buy you dinner let him!”

“Mom are you drunk?” My sister asked, I could hear my dad laughing in the other room.

“All I am saying Pam is you have plenty of time to settle down, just enjoy yourself a little bit.”

Later that night I called Jim again and we talked my whole ride home. Maybe my mom was right, maybe I do need to enjoy myself a bit, I shouldn’t read into things so much, and just have fun. I like Jim, quite a bit and want out of this awkward friends stage. My mind teetered back and forth as I thought back to our conversation Friday. I really like you, but I want to do this right. Before I could give it much more thought and drive myself insane I saw the headlights of a sleek Mercedes pull into the dingy little parking lot. I quickly scurried out of my car, feeling the cold air nip at my legs as I walked around the two cars and into the warm seat of his car.

“Hey,” I breathed as I settled into the seat and placed my bag between my legs. I could smell his musky cologne swirling around me as the heaters blasted through the car.

“Car trouble Beesly?” he laughed, before pulling out of the parking lot. From the small light provided from the dash I could tell he looked just as good as ever in his jeans and navy blue sweater.

“Yeah, third time this year it’s died on me,” I admitted. “Probably time to shop around.” With what money? Maybe my parents would help, or Isabel. Make it an early Christmas present.

“I guess I can live with being your chauffeur,” he teased, while watching the police trying to straighten the ruined stop sign. “You excited for tonight?”

“I am actually,” and I really was. “It’ll be fun to see how people are outside of work.”

“I’m sure people will love it when you get up there and sing.”

“Oh no no no,” I laughed and crossed my legs, I felt my skirt hitch up my leg a bit. “I will gladly watch you get up there and sing your heart out. You look like a ‘What is Love’ kind of guy.” I said, with a wag of my brows.

“Nope, actually more of a ‘My Humps’ kind of guy.” We spent a few seconds laughing at the mental picture until we fell into a comfortable silence, I was watching lights pass by as we traveled along the freeway. “You look beautiful, by the way.” he almost whispered and I could feel my cheeks burning. Finding the one now, can’t be a horrible decision.

Chapter 10.

Jim’s POV

We arrived at the office around six thirty, I ignored her protests and stopped at Starbucks along the way, getting our usual black coffee and chai tea. Honestly I was just looking for an excuse to keep her to myself as long as I could, I felt like I’ve barely seen her, in reality I’ve barely step foot out of my office. Maybe I’ll just whisk her away and keep her to myself today, but we would have to go to work eventually.  A few cars were here already by the time we arrived, I recognized Andy and Darryl’s along with Dwight’s and Kelly. While we were walking up to the door I couldn’t help but notice how sexy Pam looked today, the way her skirt clung to her hips, and how it moved as she made her way up the steps.

“Morning Ryan,” Pam mumbled as we walked through the lobby. I forgot that Ryan always made Kelly drive him because he was a tool, and she was gullible, but still being the boss I nodded my head towards him while Pam called down the elevator.

“Morning Pam,” he said very curt, while avoiding my eye because they were glued to Pam. We quietly loaded onto the elevator, the same comfortable silence echoing between us as the doors closed and we made our way up to the third floor.

“Ryan’s a tool,” she suddenly muttered causing me to laugh at her bluntness. “Kelly deserves better.” I’ve learned that Pam really did like Kelly, well what I have learned is Pam likes everyone… except Ryan, apparently.

“But Ryan doesn’t.” I replied, just before the elevator doors opened, that guy deserves nothing.

“Tuna!” Andy greeted, while we walked off the elevator and towards my office,  “Ready to party tonight?” he asked, with that stupid grin on his face. I glanced over at Pam who had a smirk on her face as she stopped at her desk and shrugged out of her coat revealing her perfect back side to us.  It was easy to tell that Andy had his eyes on her while we walked by, I had my damn eyes on her.

“Not really a party.” I said, while grabbing his attention off of Pam. “It’s karaoke in the breakroom.” Angela, Kelly and Karen were part of a group called the Party Planning Committee; I wasn’t a hundred percent on board till they started taking care of everyone birthdays so I didn't have to. And they do a great job with Christmas, Halloween, Valentines, Birthdays, Welcoming... they do it all.

“Oh come on,” he moaned, and followed me into my office. Pam finished organizing my office earlier this week, I could barely recognize it at first, it’s never been this clean. She had a complete system and told me, ‘I don’t want your manliness jacking it up’ her words not mine, but safe to say she controls the filing. “Drinks, appetizers, karaoke, girls.” His eyebrows wagged with every word. “Is Pam single?” he suddenly asked. I remained calm knowing exactly what Pam was into and that wasn’t Andy. I’m also not going to be that boyfriend.

“I don’t know exactly.” I lied, while taking a seat behind my desk and powering on my computer. Today was back to back meetings, conference calls, skyping until the party at five.

“What about Karen? Still off limits?”

“Come on man,” I laughed as I shook my head.

“What? Nard Dog wants to get it on!” He sang that last part and for a moment I actually wanted to slam my head into my desk, more than once.

“Andy,” I began slowly. “This is an office party, and I do not care who you go home with, I don’t WANT to know who you go home with.” Before he could say anything else to make this situation even more uncomfortable Darryl walked in.

“Hey man,” Darryl said, “Kelly wants to get a party bus for tonight.”

“What?” I asked annoyed. First it started as a company party at the most expensive hotel ballroom in town, once I made it clear to her that were having the party here I had to compromise and purchase a karaoke machine for Darryl to hook up along with two flat screens that were installed early this week. Now a party bus?

“Ooh,” Andy grumbled and started to shimmy towards the door. “Boss talk.” Once he danced out the door Darryl closed it behind him before taking a seat across me from.

“Not really,” he assured me. “Just wanted him out of my hair - hey, by the way, are you banging Pam?” Well that was a quick turn of the conversation.

“No?” I said, slowly. Almost sounded like a question.. “I told you that wouldn’t happen.”

“Explain the sexy looks and coffee every morning?” he pointed out. “And what’s up with the carpool today?”

“Her car broke down.” I argued.

“And she couldn’t uber?”

I wasn’t going to go into detail about Pam’s financial situation but I knew she needed the help this morning, and possibly Monday, or until payday. “No, so I picked her up. It’s not a big deal.”

Darryl began to chuckle and shake his head.  “Why don’t you just get with her already.”

“It’s complicated,” was all I could say. “But we’ve discussed it.”

“Yeah, yeah, busy three weeks or whatever.” he grumbled. “You don’t do something man, someone else is just going to sweep her up, that girl is a catch man.”

“I doubt she’ll be swept.” I laughed, I sounded a bit cocky. Glancing out to Pam’s desk my confidence began to sway as I watched a pimply face delivery boy walk towards her with three dozen pink roses in a crystal vase. “Oh my god.”

Pam’s POV

“Oh my god.” I whispered, as a boy carrying a rose bouquet made his way towards me. The flower arrangement was bigger than him, he had to crane his skinny neck around it just see where he was walking.

“Pam Beesly?” he croaked, while placing the beautiful flowers on the end of my desk. I quickly recognized the crystal vase to be from Tiffany and Co, Steve got one for Isabel for their anniversary. Very expensive.

“Yeah,” I finally answered and signed the delivery slip he handed me. “Thanks.” Glancing over my shoulder I looked back at Jim, whose lips were pressed together in a tight line, as he listened to Darryl talk. I’ll just take a wild guess that these aren’t from him. Grabbing the card from the top I fell gently into my seat and opened the small envelope while the aroma of roses swirled around me.

Pammy,

This bouquet is to inform you that you have seventeen days to pick out your outfit for our date, Yes, you read correctly beautiful, our date. No if’s and’s or cute butts in those tight pants, you're letting me take you to an amazing dinner and you’ll enjoy yourself. Can't wait to see that gorgeous face of yours. Feel free to call me

-Roy Anderson

“Oh, beautiful Pamela,” Andy sang loudly causing me to jump in my seat. I shoved the card in my purse just as he shawshayed over to me. “Those are some serious boyfriend flowers, who’s the lucky guy?”

“My parents actually,” I lied and crossed my legs, suddenly feeling very exposed. “Would you mind putting them on that middle table?” I asked while pointing to the small table in the middle of the room. While Andy began to struggle with the large bouquet I glanced over to look at Jim again who appeared to be on a conference call now, his head low as he talked. I felt my shoulders slump, I really need to explain to Roy that it was never going to happen, ever. Even though Jim and I haven't done anything yet, or really talked about it, or even titled it... but it’s very important to me, Jim is important to me.

I managed to keep myself busy for the rest of the day with Jim’s schedule for next week; another week of late nights. Today Jim was in and out of meetings, conference calls and skype calls all day, I believe he even went to the restroom once while he was using his head set. Every once in a while he would send me his famous smirk that would have me blushing into my computer. Andy stopped by my desk a couple times, asking if I was attending the party down stairs, and even asked me if I were single and ready to mingle. And thankfully before I could answer Darryl was practically dragging him away by his neck. On my lunch break Kelly pulled me down to the breakroom to help set up for the party. They had this group called the Party Planning Committee, which Kelly made very clear I wasn’t apart of. But the PPC did an amazing job, they had two large tables against the wall which was where the food was going. Then in the corner was basically a full service bar, which I heard Oscar was running. And mounted to the walls were two new tv’s that Darryl would be hooking up to the karaoke machine. And adjacent to both of them was a small stage and microphone. Then scattered across the room were tall round tables that fit maybe four people with tall chairs so people could sit and mingle but enough room for people to dance too. It looked amazing. But now with only an hour left until the party I was finishing up on Jim’s schedule for next week when the elevator doors dinged open and Karen walked off and started towards me.

“Hey,” she said softly while a smile, while grabbing a chair near by and taking a seat next to me. “The skids are in.” she said, while shaking the large envelope in her hands.

“Oh great,” I am actually excited to see my artwork in a more large and finalized scale. I cleared my desk a bit as she opened the envelope and pulled the designs out. “Oh wow,” I said, while looking them over, the image of the design was more clear with the darker lines and less sketched looking.

“Yeah, they turned out great.” she smiled and I noticed her glance over to the flowers on the table. “Those are gorgeous,” she stated and looked back at me. “From your boyfriend?”

“Oh no,” I laughed, awkwardly. “Some guy I met in Canada, who’s trying to get me to go out with him.” I tried to be as plain as possible to appear more interested in the skids than the boyfriend topic.

“That’s sweet,” she grinned. “You should go out with him.” she urged. Of course she would.

“Yeah maybe,” I replied sheepishly while stacking the skids back together. “These look perfect.” I smiled as brightly as I could, to the point that my cheeks were hurting.

“Awesome, I’ll just run these by Jim.” She got to her feet and gracefully walked into his office. “Hey Halpert,” she purred while walking into his office. I ignored the ping of jealousy because I wasn’t going to be that girl who gets jealous of her boyfriend. But it was very difficult watching she was sit on the edge of his desk with her legs so close to his hand.Having learned their history now has left me feeling a little unreasonably insecure, but that’s just something that I’ll need to deal with on my own. Jim has given me no reason to doubt him, in fact, short of actually out right discussing what’s happening between us he’s given me every reason to think he’s very much in to me. But the way Karen is sitting there right now so close to Jim with her body curled towards his and that smile lighting up her face just gives me a very unsettled feeling.

“Seriously?” I mumbled under my breath and tried to distract myself with anything at this point.

“Hey Pam!” Jim soundly called, making my head snap up. Through the glass I could see him waving me in while Karen continued to be perched on his desk almost staring at him confused. I quickly got to my feet and grabbed my notebook before hurrying into his office. “I just need to go over next weeks schedule real quick, Karen.” he said, his tone of voice switched over to a very professional tone that sent a shiver down my spine. “Could you excuse us?” Jim rarely used his ‘boss tone’ but when he did I couldn’t help but feel a bit turned on.

“Of course.” she whispered before getting to her feet and quickly walking past me with her head down, I carefully shut the door behind her with a stupid grin on my face as I took a seat with my pen and notebook ready.

“Okay, I lied,” he smiled, while leaning back into his chair. “I just needed you.”

“For?” I pressed.

“Nothing,” he smirked. “Just you.” And in that moment we weren’t boss and employee but Jim and Pam.

Chapter 11

Pam’s POV

Around five o’clock I headed down to the break room by myself while Jim finished up on some last minute paperwork. His goal for today and tomorrow was to not have to come in Sunday. I already planned on coming in with him tomorrow, that is if I was with him tonight. Arriving into the break room I was blown away at the amount of food that was spread out on the tables, plenty for a company twice our size. There were already a few people shuffling around, Kelly was already laughing louder than usual with a red drink in her hand; from here I could count eight maraschino cherries in her drink. Darryl was finishing up the Karaoke machine while Andy was breathing down his neck about the songs playlist.

“What can I get for you?” Oscar asked, as I approached the bar. Behind him were three shelves just full of liquor, while there were cases of imported beer at his feet. I wasn’t the most skilled at a bar and usually just stuck with my usual safe choice.

“Hmm, got a margarita back there?” I didn’t plan on getting drunk at all, more just to loosen a bit up and enjoy myself, and since I wasn't driving, what was the harm?

“Right away!” Leaning up against the marble, I glanced over my shoulder and watched as people began to enter and mingle with one another. Dwight swaggered in like he always did and made his way to the cranky faced Angela in the corner, who was rolling her eyes at Karen. “Strawberry Margarita,” Oscar announced. Once I had my my drink in hand I began to make my way over to the food but was quickly intercepted by Kelly grabbing me by my arm as she began to drag me to the corner where Karen, Angela and Dwight were standing. Oh goody.

“We need to know where you got that skirt from.” Kelly insisted. I glanced down at the old tan suede skirt I was wearing, nothing special but cute.

“Oh, Old Navy, stole it from my sister.”

“It’s adorable,” Karen said while admiring it. “Great with the sweater too.” I tried not to appear too uncomfortable at her compliments.

“Super cute.” Kelly added. “What are you? A size four?”

“It’s a bit short.” Angela mumbled. According to Kelly, shes caught Angela and Dwight doing in the office, so I’m not sure why the length of my skirt would bother her, but I refrained from saying anything.

“Women are most attractive when they show no skin.” Dwight added. And the only person to dress like that is Angela.

“Attention everyone,” Jim’s voice suddenly boomed through the speakers from above. Everyone turned towards the stage to watch him stand awkwardly with a beer in one hand and the mic in the other. He was so tall that he was dangerously close to banging his head on one of his speakers. “Hey, welcome,” he smiled, his eyes locked dead with mine. “Glad everyone could make it, just a quick announcement, you aren't getting paid for this but there is plenty of food.” The room rumbled into a light chuckle, Jim was always great at that first open liner of any meeting. “As you all know by now, as of Monday we locked the Toronto Raptors into a five year contract, bringing in approximately seven million for the company.” The room erupted into a nice applause, I could see Andy patting Dwight on the back which made him cringe away from his touch. “And a large part of that success was our own Pam Beesly,” My face felt like it was going to explode as twelve sets of eyes rested on me. “As you guys may have noticed, I have acquired a new assistant, Pam Beesly, straight out of Scranton herself, with a Masters in Art History and Design as well as a MFA in Fine Arts. She is the mastermind behind the new designs for the Raptors as well as the designs we are presenting for the Blue Jays. So let’s give her a round.” I couldn't help but beam up at him as the room applauded around me, but the real heart pounder was the quick wink he sent my way when no one was looking. “Alright everybody, enjoy!” I hid my smile into my drink as the room began to buzz with conversations, I could hear Andy already trying to figure out which song he was going to ‘bless us’ with. Jim made his way through the crowd as quickly as possible while patting people on the back as he went. When he finally reached me, he leaned down to place his lips next to me ear and whispered, “How was that? Too cheesy?”

“Not cheesy at all,” I laughed. I wanted nothing more than to turn my head slightly and place my lips against his, but reminded myself of all the time I would possibly have with him tonight. He gently patted my back before he walked off to go mingle with other employees while I took a seat at one of the table tops. Everyone appeared to be already enjoying themselves, Andy was getting ready to take the stage, even Toby was having a small conversation with Clark. It appeared that Darryl, Jim and Kevin were placing bets as I watched dollar bills get exchanged between one another. He mentioned that some of the team members had multiple bets amongst everyone, how many times Angela rolls her eyes, or Dwight mentions his farm, how long Kelly can go talking without breathing. Taking a wild guess, it had to be on how many show tunes Andy was going to sing tonight.

“What’s that all about?” Dwight asked while he and Angela took a seat with me, along with Karen.

“I think they’re betting how many show tunes Andy is going to sing tonight.” I answered, and sipped more of my drink, a smile on my lips as I watched Jim. Just everything about that man was beautiful, his smile, the way all of his teeth would show when he laughed, his sense of humor was probably my favorite aspect of him, it doesn’t matter how early in the morning or the lack of coffee he can make anyone laugh, even Dwight cracks a smile, time to time.

“Can I place a bet?” Dwight asked Angela all of a sudden, who’s scowl changed from normal to annoyed.

“If you must,” she scoffed, and like a lightning bolt Dwight ran off to Darryl and Jim’s side, wallet in hand.

“You don’t let Dwight bet?” Kelly asked, while taking Dwight's spot, I noticed her drink was refilled with even more cherries.

“It’s a sin.” Angela remarked, and sipped her ice water.

“Come on Angela,” Karen chuckled, “You have to have at least one game you play here.”

“Oh, I do,” she said, as her dark eyes flashed to mine. “I guess how many times Jim takes Pam out for ‘work lunch’ or ‘work coffee.’”

“That’s technically betting,” Kelly said confidently, before her eyebrows furrowed. “Right?”

“He’s my boss.” I said, defensively, my gave slipped past her to look at  Jim, he was busy watching Andy get on stage.

“Apparently,” she sneered. “Since when do bosses drive their assistants to work?” I ignored the heat that was slowly creeping up my neck, I wasn’t going to let Angela, who has the secret ‘sex in the office kink’, make me upset.

“They aren’t dating,” Karen boasted. “Pam has a boyfriend in Canada.” I opened my mouth to correct her but Kelly’s wheels were already going miles an hour.

“Pam!!” She practically screamed. “Why didn’t you tell me you have a boyfriend?”

“Because, I don’t.” I clarified. “Just some guy that  wants to take me out to dinner so he sent me flowers today.”

“Oh my god!  He is so into you!” She squealed. I desperately took another sip of my drink, questioning my decision to stay sober tonight.  Andy finally chose to sing Zombie by the Cranberries which was making this experience even more pleasant.

“In your heaaad, in your heeaad,” ANdy sang into the mic. “Zombie, Zombie ZOmbie-ie-ie-ie.”

“Ugh, I wish Ryan was that romantic,” Kelly sighed. “Remember that huge bouquet Jim got you Karen?”

“Yeah,” Karen mumbled, and finished her beer. “We used to date.” She explained to me and I quickly tried to look genuinely surprised by the fact. “Dumped me a week later.”

“Weren’t you guys talking about marriage?” Angela asked, who swore up and down she wasn't into gossip or drama. False. I tried to not focus on the marriage topic I knew it wasn't true, Jim would have told me.

“Yeah,” Karen answered. “We went and looked at rings and he dumped me a week later.” The timeline didn’t line up with Jim’s facts but I still couldn't help but feel that slight nag in the back of my head. I glanced up at Jim who was already looking at me and he secretly sent me a quick wink before raising his beer towards Andy who was performing onstage, “This is amazing,” he mouthed.

“Maybe he was cheating on you.” Kelly spoke.

“You should probably get tested,” Angela added.. “Who knows where he has been.”

“Excuse me for a moment,” I said suddenly while getting down to my feet and quietly making my way out of the room. My head was lowered as made my way to the elevator, I wasn’t planning on leaving but I needed away from that situation for a moment. Is this why I never had friends in college? I never even hung out with the volleyball team. Because women could just be nast creatures, none of this lined up with what Jim told me, where they all lying, and they were all in on this. Some ridiculous act of hazing. Or was it the more sad truth that Jim could be lying to m. Just as I got off on the third floor my phone dinged with a new message from Jim.

I ignored the message and made my way to the coffee bar to grab a water bottle from the mini fridge. I shouldn’t let this bother me, it’s in the past, but it’s seems to be a very big piece of information he left out of his backstory with Karen. Why would he not tell me? I should trust him, I know I should, but why would Karen make that up... and Angela was even the first one to bring it up, ugh! But he said he didn’t even love her, I’m so confused. I know I was over exaggerating but everyone in the office seems to have this idea that they were getting married. I ignored the growl in my stomach while I made my way over to my desk, maybe there is some work I can tackle before tomorrow. As of now I wasn’t in the celebrating mood anymore. You should just ask him about it Beesly, stop throwing a fit. Just as I took a seat at my desk the elevator doors dinged open revealing Jim.

“There you are,” he announced with a smile as he made his way over to me. “You know, you don’t have to work during a party,” he laughed, as he arrived at my desk and perched himself on the edge.

“Yeah,” I laughed half heartedly. “Not feeling too hot.”

“Oh, okay.” He said and got to his feet. “Let me get my stuff.”

“You don’t have to,” I said quickly, my heart aching at the words. “I’ll just get a cab.” That’s when his expression turned to concern as his wavy eyebrows knitted together and he looked down at me while shoving his hands in his pockets. I couldn't stand looking at him when he was upset with me, my eyes dropped to my keds.

“Alright, what’s going on?”

“Did you and Karen talk about marriage?” I asked slowly, my eyes not leaving my shoes.

“No,” he answered immediately, looking up at him I could tell he wanted to laugh but stopped himself by rubbing his lips with his hand. “Is that what they were telling you?”

“Maybe,” I said sheepishly. This time he did laugh as he stretched his hand out for me to grab.

“Come on, Beesly.” he said, I placed my small hand in his letting him pull me to my feet and towards his office. I followed behind him as he gently led me in before closing the door behind us. Dropping his hand I made my way to lean against his desk while he sat down in the chair in front of me. “Alright, have I not been clear enough about my intentions?” he asked. His voice was light, but I still felt the tug on my chest like I was hurting him, I trusted Jim more than anyone I’ve ever met but the thoughts were still daunting.

“No you have,” I mumbled, and crossed my arms over my chest. “I don’t want to be that jealous couple Jim-” I began before his ridiculous smirk cut me off.

“A couple?” he asked, as he rolled up his sleeves and continued to smile ridiculously large at me.

“Shut up,” I laughed. “Seriously though, what’s next? Mystery baby?”

“No, I can’t be entirely certain, but Dwight and I might have one,” I couldn’t help but roll my eyes at him, he always looks for the positive lightness of any situation. “Hey,” he said, his tone more serious as he got to his feet, standing close enough for his damn cologne to make my head swoon. “It’s just you and me pal, I know we discussed the next few weeks, but Pam,” he paused and smiled down at me, letting a small laugh of disbelief out. “I’m crazy about you, and I’m not about to let Karen’s false marriage talk, or Roy’s flowers ruin any of that.” I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep myself from blubbering up like an idiot. “Alright? Jim and Pam take the world, well Athlead at least.”

“Ha, PB & J,” I laughed realizing how awesome our initials are. “Oh my god JAM!”

“Oh my god, you're a dork,” he laughed, before he cupped my face and leaned in for a kiss.

We haven’t kissed since we returned from Canada so this was like a fresh drink of cold water. The kiss was soft at first, our lips moving tentatively against each other, until the realization that not having kissed for a week set in and we were attacking one another. I couldn’t help myself as my fingers wrapped around the collar of his sweater and pulled him against me. His big hands were tightly on my hips pushing me back until he edged me up firmly on his desk making the height difference more bearable. I pulled him closer between my legs, feeling my skirt ride up my thighs as our lips continued at war. His tongue brushed along my bottom lip begging for entrance which I gladly gave. As our tongues slide against each other my fingers tangled themselves into the roots of his hair pulling him closer while he pushed himself against me, our hips grinding together.  There was no denying how aroused I was, or how wet I was becoming. I could hear the container of pens fall over as I began to lean back pulling him with me. He stretched over me causing his very noticeable bulge to rub against me with the pressure I was desperately seeking. I slipped his bottom lip between my teeth causing his hips to buck his forward, grinding against me, I released a moan from the back of my throat.

“Hey,” Jim breathed as he pulled his lips away from me. “As much of a fantasy this is to have you here, on my desk right now, I want our first time to be right.” I couldn’t help buck chuckle a bit, he was right, after our many failed attempts I wanted it to be special.

“Very deep,” I laughed, as he straightened up pulling me with him. I carefully got down off his desk, pulling my skirt down while watching him attempt to fix his frazzled hair.

“Let’s go cash in on my bet and we’ll head out,” As we walked towards the door my stomach released a loud growl that was easily heard. “And we’ll feed the beast.”

Chapter 12

Jim’s POV

Chapter 12

I wanted nothing more than to throw Pam over my shoulder and haul her out of here but I knew how bad that would look, so with my better judgment we went back downstairs. We made it just in time to watch Dwight sing Green Day's “Boulevard of Broken Dreams”.

“Score!” I cheered, as we made our way back to the party. I tried to edge Pam away from the table of waiting gossipers and was internally grateful when she b-lined it for the food table. I still managed a side look at Karen who was sending daggers my way.

I made my way over to Darryl and Kevin. “How much of Andy’s performance did I miss?”

“Well, here’s twenty for his performance of Mama Mia,” Kevin said as he handed me a twenty. We’re all in about sixty bucks so that wasn’t a horrible turn out. “Darryl took thirty for his switching the song into “You can call me Al” and ten for keeping his performance under twenty minutes.”

“Not horrible,” I laughed, and reached for the beer I rested on the stage before I left.

“What was that all about?” Darryl asked, nodding his head towards Pam, who was filling her plate up with food. Kevin, thankfully, was busy trying to convince Toby and Clark to place a bet with him about Dwight.

“Karen and the others just putting bullshit in her head,” I explained after a sip of my now stale beer. “Brought up the stupid ring.” I didn’t blame Darryl as he let out a chuckle, I can see the humor now, but then it wasn’t quite so funny, in fact it was one of the worst days, weeks, I’ve experienced in a relationship. Karen and I were having another crazy fight about buying a bigger home, then after we settled down and weren’t tearing each other’s heads off, we went to the mall to cool down. Instead, she (literally) dragged me into a jewelry shop and began trying on rings.  I was able to gently pull her back into reality and not another fight but she told everyone in the office that I was looking at rings and we were gonna have a spring wedding.

“Oh man,” Darryl laughed. “You know everyone is going to find out though, right? Kelly has a gift for it.”

“Oh I know,” I laughed, sneaking a glance back over to Pam who was talking with Toby and Clark. “I just figured the whole building didn't need to know immediately.” It wasn’t anyone's business, yet this whole building feels the need to be involved in everyones crap.

“Dude, they’ve been speculating since she started.” he pointed out. “You can’t have an assistant that pretty work for you.”

“Oh shut up,” I laughed and rolled my eyes. Just then my phone began to vibrate in my pocket, I placed my stale beer back on the table before pulling my phone from my pocket. I was surprised to see my mom’s name flashing along the screen, usually we talked on Sunday. “Hey mom,” I said, with the phone placed to my ear, and my hand on the other attempting to block out Dwight's singing. “Everything okay?”

“Oh, yes honey, actually Macie is in labor!” she announced.

“Oh, wow.” I managed, quite surprised at the news. “How is she doing?”

“Good! Everyone is here, were about thirty minutes in.” She babbled on, like she always did. “What time do you think you’ll be able to get here?” I paused and glanced at my watch then glanced back over to Pam who was laughing with Toby; I also couldn’t but help but notice the hand placed on her lower back. “Your brother would love to have you here, Jim,” her tone switched over to her motherly one.

“Yeah, I know mom.” I sighed and placed my beer down onto a nearby table and nodded bye to Darryl before making my way over to Pam, who still had Toby’s hand on her lower back. “I should be there by eight if I catch the 6:30 train. I hid my smile as I watched Toby take two noticeable steps back away from Pam as I motioned for her to follow me and we both left the room again.

“Oh good, just call us when you get here,” she cooed. “Love you sweetheart.”

“Love you too mom.” I said, as we entered the quiet hallway. I rolled my eyes at Pam as she giggled around the straw of her drink. Hanging up I shoved both my hands into my pockets and tried to not look disappointed as I looked at her. “Hey, so my sister-in-law is in labor.”

“That’s great!” She cheered, before realization set it. “Someone's got a train to catch.”

“Yeah,” I sighed. “I have to leave now, actually.”

“No biggy,” she said, though the hints of disappointment were very clear. Was it too soon for her to meet my family? “You’re gonna be an uncle!”

“Yeah,” I laughed, and began to pull out my wallet. “But you need a ride home.” I began, while shuffling through the cash in my wallet.

“Oh, no, no.” She quickly said, while placing her hand on top of mine in an attempt to make me stop. “I’m fine, I’ll call my sister or something,” she insisted. “I’m sure Toby can give me a ride home.”  I noticed her smile as I shot her a sharp look, she was obviously teasing me about that hand on her back.

“No,” I answered. “Yeah no. Just get an uber home. The nicer, less questionable, one and get some pizza.” I said and shoved most of my twenties from my wallet into her hand, it had to be roughly $140-$160.

“Jim, this is way too much and unnecessary,” she complained as her eyebrows almost touched by how tightly she had them scrunched together.

“Pam, if I could give you more I would.” I said gently, while wrapping her fingers around the money. “Now hush. Take what you can home with you to work on, and I’ll be back Monday.”

“Okay,” she whispered and smiled up at me a bit brighter than before. I noticed the glistening in her eyes, but decided not to ask. Glancing over the top of her head I noticed the empty hallway and moved my hand from hers and up to her elbow pulling her closer to me.

“I’ll make it up to you, I swear,” I vowed quietly.

“Shut up and go be an uncle,” she said, with a large smile on her lips. I stared down for a moment, trying to commit this image to memory since this smile was going to be the only thing to hold me over this weekend. “I’ll miss you.”

“I’ll miss you too.” I whispered, before placing my lips gently on hers, before making my way out of the office, my shoulders slumping with every step.

Pam’s POV

I wasn’t going to lie that I wasn’t upset when Jim had to leave Friday evening, but I was also very excited for him. He sent me a text around two am Saturday with a picture of him and his niece Vanessa Halpert, six pounds seven ounces and super adorable. After the uber ride home and a delivered pizza I spent the rest of the evening trying to get ahold of Roy to tell him that it was never going to happen between us, but all my calls went straight to voicemail. I also used the rest of Jim’s money for a new battery, which Steve installed Sunday when he and Isabel came over. He also made it very clear that my car had maybe a year or two left with the condition that it was running in. Isabel, on the other hand, wouldn’t let up about the bouquet of flowers that Roy sent me. Apparently I couldn’t tell my mother anything anymore, because Isabel would hear about it the next day. With the amount of work that I did Saturday and Sunday I managed to get us half a day ahead, which was good; less stress for Jim is always a priority of mine. Our flight was scheduled early the next Saturday morning, we were going to have lunch with the owner and manager of the Toronto Blue Jays and dinner with Roy and Bobby to catch up, which should be great. I’m really not looking forward to that. All that was left to do was prepare the presentation pamphlets and price point booklets, go over the presentation, then pack everything up.

Monday I arrived to work around five am due to another robbery on my street, this time it was the apartment complex directly across from mine. With the colder weather, dressing cute was becoming more and more difficult by the day.  Today I went with black jeans and a white blouse paired with a long grey cardigan and black booties. When I arrived I opted for coffee instead of tea due to how exhausted I was. And once I started my third cup of coffee people were beginning to arrive with the exception of Jim. His train arrived around seven and he wanted to shower and shave before coming in. We talked all weekend but I was still buzzing to see him and with the amount of coffee I had already consumed I felt very jittery.

“Oh Ms. Honorable Pamela.” Andy sang, as he sashayed his way over to my desk. Over my short time here, I noticed as we approach the colder months the more pastel Andy’s clothes became. Today was a pastel pink and purple tattersall shirt with a pink tie, navy blue pants and a tan jacket.

“Yes Andy?” I asked, while mustering all the willpower I had to not sound cranky or annoyed. I did my best to cross my legs and give him my full attention or the singing and nicknames would get worse as the conversation progressed.

“When will Big Tuna reach shore?”  Hands down, Jim had the worst nickname, according to Jim when he and Andy met Jim was eating a tuna fish sandwich.

“He said around ten o’clock.” Glancing down at my watch that was only two more hours to go.

“Well, the crew and I were thinking about making a breakfast run,” he said, while shoving his hands into his pockets, rocking back and forth and thrusting his crotch way too close to my face.

“And?” I pressed, feeling my pen begin to bend under the pressure of my fingers.

“Would that be-”

“Andy,” I sighed, “You’re a boss, if you want to go out for breakfast, go out to breakfast.”

“Oh yeah,” he said, as realization swept over his face. “I am a boss!” he cheered before literally skipping away. Within twenty minutes he had most of the office rallied up and heading out to breakfast. I chose to stay here and take the opportunity to work without Andy here to distract me. I collected all of the designs, booklets and packets before carrying them into Jim’s office and laying them out onto his desk for him to look over when he arrives.

“My god, I missed you.” A voice whispered behind me, causing me to jump a couple feet into the air.

“Oh my god!” I gasped while clutching my chest. Whirling around I saw Jim leaning against the doorframe wearing my favorite combo on him, jeans and a sweater, “I thought you weren't coming in till ten?” I asked, while a big smile spread across my lips.

“I missed you,” he repeated while closing the distance in two long strides before he scooped me up in his arms, picking my feet up off the floor.

“I missed you,” I whispered against his neck while squeezing him closer.

“Where is everyone?” he asked as he lowered me to back down to my feet.

“Andy took everyone out to breakfast.” I replied, my eyes still glued to his features, he was in need of a haircut and shave touch up but still looked good as ever.

“Everyone?”

“Everyone.”

“Well that’s great,” he snorted before capturing my lips. Much like friday this kiss started off slowly till we were clinging onto one another and our tongues were lapping against each others. We were pressed so firmly against each other you couldn't tell where I began and he ended. Once again I was pressed up against his desk, my fingers in his hair, his own hands curling into the skin of my waist and once again it was over too soon. He gently pulled back to lean his forehead against mine, our breathe mixing together.

“How about those samples?” he breathed with a large smile along his lips.

“Yes, samples.” I laughed, while gently pushing him away, letting him make his way around his desk. “These are the two sets that I’ve put together and I emailed you the presentation.”

“Great,” he smiled while taking a seat. “I’ll look them over and we’ll discuss them over lunch.”

“Sounds good,” I smiled while making my way back to my desk, my cheeks burning as I took a seat.

As everyone arrived back from breakfast the day continued on normally; I was even able to get some work done now that Jim had Andy busy with actual work. Before lunch I had both the packets and pricing pamphlets sent out for copies and the presentation was finalized. Now I was just waiting for Jim to finish up so we could go to lunch and discuss work, a little bit. Mostly just talk. But of course the good day had to halt as I watched yet another pimply faced kid walk off the elevator holding a giant rose gold tin box.

“Oh god,” I grumbled as he made his way towards me.

“Pam?” he croaked. I just gave a small nod watching in despair as he placed the box down on my table. After I finished signing the receipt he quickly hurried back to the elevator so I began to unwrap the obnoxious box that had La Maison du Chocolat embossed across the top. Laying on top of the beautifully wrapped chocolate was another card, hand written out, from Roy. Of course. I know he would never have sent them but I couldn’t help the tiny sliver of hope that, just maybe, they were from Jim.

Pammy,

These chocolates are to inform you that I will not be taking or returning your calls until our date. No ifs, and, or long distance bs! it's happening babe so enjoy the ride and dress for a cold evening but keep it sexy. Can’t wait to see you.

Roy Anderson.

“From Roy?” Glancing up from the distasteful note I noticed Jim was ready to go with his coat on and keys in hand.

“Yeah,” I mumbled while crumpling up the note. “Ready?” I asked, while tossing the note and picking up the canister of chocolate. Jim gave a small nod and we both walked in silence to the elevator.

“He’s starting to make me look bad.” Jim said as the doors shut. His tone was playful though sadness lingered nearby

“He’s being obnoxious.” I grumbled. “I tried calling to thank him for the flowers but also make it clear that nothing was going to happen and his note basically says he’s controlling the date and just to enjoy the ride. Unexpectedly, the elevator stopped at the second floor, opening its doors to let Karen on board. “Great,” I sighed lightly enough for Jim’s ears to catch.

“Oh, hey guys,” she said with faux niceness, her eyes locked on Jim only. “Jim how’d the baby go?”

“Great, Marcie and Vanessa are home doing great,” he replied his voice slightly strained. Once the doors opened I quickly unloaded and headed towards Ryan desk.

“Hey Ryan,” I said, not waiting for him to reply. “You mind setting these up here for people enjoy?”

“Sure thing,” he replied while taking the box away from me. “Whoa, La Maison du Chocolat, aren’t these french?”  He asked, while examining the delicately wrapped chocolate.

“Don’t know.” I lied, I remember passing by one of the stores when Roy and I left the restaurant. “Thanks Ryan.” I turned to Jim who was waiting, his eyes on me, while Karen continued to talk to him. “Ready?” I asked, not caring that I cut Karen off.

“More gifts from Canada?” Karen asked.

“Looks like it.” I answered and began towards the front door, grateful she wasn’t wearing a coat and couldn’t follow us. Jim and I walked again in repeated silence to his car, the sound of gravel crunching between us. I couldn’t help but curl up into the seat that when he started it, the seats beginning to heat up. How cool is that? But my mind really wasn’t on his amazing car, I was much more concerned with the uncomfortable situation we’ve found ourselves in. “I don’t like this.”

“Me either.” He replied as he pulled out of the parking lot. “What are you going to do about Roy?”

“What are you going to do about Karen?” I returned.

“We can introduce them to each other.” He offered, his familiar smirk returning.

“Perfect!

Returning back from lunch neither Karen or Roy were mentioned for the rest of the day. When we arrived back we both jumped straight into our work, I continued to place the order of the pamphlets and presentation booklets while Jim finalized the presentation and caught up on emails. Around four in the afternoon most of the office left for the day, while Jim and I continued to work. It wasn’t till eight that Jim came out of his office and leaned against the door frame.

“Why don’t you head home before it’s really late.” he said. Glancing at my watch I was surprised at the time, when I actually got home it would be nine.

“Yeah, you're probably right.” I said sleepy, while getting to my feet and began to collect my things. “What time would you like me in?”

“Well we could meet for coffee again, at the cold brew place around the corner, like seven?” he suggested, while he made his way around my desk watching me as I shrugged my coat on.

“That sounds great, hopefully there isn't a robbery tonight.” I said with an eye roll, and pulled my bag on. “I’ll call you in the morning?” I asked, as he reached out to wrap his arms around me.

“Perfect.” He smiled, before leaning down to press a soft kiss on my lips. We managed to keep it PG 13, though I wanted to shove him back into his office, but I managed to pull away and start to make my way to the elevator instead.  ”Text me when you get home,” he said, with a slight wink as he went back into his office and I descended down to the lobby and my car. My drive was a quiet forty five minutes and to my amazement there were no police in the neighborhood. Yet. I parked in my small reserved spot and slung my bag over my shoulder and quickly made my way into my apartment building. Heading into December the forecast said we should be getting snow soon, hopefully. I’ve always enjoyed first snow. The terrifying elevator creaked it’s way up three flights till it finally made it up to the third floor. I walked down the long stuffy hallway until my apartment door came into view and I was extremely surprised to see the door slightly ajar.

“Damit.” I muttered as I made my way towards the door, I must have been in a rush this morning and didn’t shut it all the way. Pushing the door fully open my heart heart dropped to my stomach as I took in my now destroyed and robbed apartment. Just in the small entrance glass was everywhere as my smashed photo’s were scattered along the floor. Entering my living room I couldn’t quite wrap my head around the damage, my tv was gone, the small glass coffee table smashed, my couch was actually slashed with stuffing everywhere. Who the hell slashed a couch? Before I could turn to examine my kitchen a large arm quickly wrapped around my throat hauling me up onto my tip toes while rough lips were pressed against my ear.

“Give me your bag and you won't get hurt,” he demanded.  I quickly dropped my heavy bag to the ground, mentally saying goodbye to my wallet, laptop and paperwork, along with a sketch of Jim I was working on. My hands flew to my intruders giant bicep as he slowly began to squeeze and cut off my air.  “Ooh,” he purred, while running his hand down the side of my body, his dirty hand caressing the side of my breast through my thin white blouse, tears began to rim my eyes. “You’re a good girl.” His hand continued down the sides of my body until they reached the top of my jeans where he quickly flicked open the button and my body froze.

“Dip shit, lets go.” A voice growled behind me causing my intruders hands to pause.

“Fine,” he grunted, before roughly shoving me to the ground right into a pile of glass. I was in too much shock to feel the pain as it cut my hands and knees up. A deep sob broke through my chest as tears poured down my face the echoes of their running feet disappearing behind me. With shaky and bloody hands I managed to pull out my cell phone and dial 911.

“911, what is your emergency.” A female voice answered.

“Um,” I sobbed quietly, my throat extremely dry. “I need to report a robbery.” The rest of the phone call droned on as she took my address and dispatched some officers and paramedics for my bleeding hands. Once I got off with her I managed to get up and carefully walked to my kitchen, the only sound was the crunching glass beneath my feet. Blood got everywhere as I quickly washed my hands and wrapped them both up in paper towels before I dialed Jim’s number, grateful he answered on the second ring.

“Miss me already, Beesly?” he teased. The sound of his voice managed to warm me a bit but my words were still lodged in my throat the only sound coming out was another sob as more tears made their way down my face. “Pam?” he said more urgently.

“Hey,” I finally gasped. ”I got robbed.” Silence rang for a moment, as more tears ran down my face.

“Are you alone?” He asked, I could hear the sound of shuffling on the other end like he was gathering his things together. “Where are the police?”

“On their way.”

“I’m on my way, Pam.” He said, the sound of the elevator dinged in the background. “Okay? I’ll be right there.”

“Okay,” I whispered before the line disconnected. Ten minutes passed when the police and paramedics finally showed up and I was bombarded with questions while glass was pulled out of my knee and hands. Jim showed up about twenty minutes after that, I was sitting at my kitchen table, both my hands wrapped in gauze with a fleece blanket over my shoulders as the police surveyed all the damage.

“Pam?” I heard Jim call into the room, I looked up to see him being pushed back behind the yellow tape at my door by a smaller police man. “That’s my girlfriend that you guys have done a shitty job of protecting,” he snapped, his tone was one I’ve never heard. “There was a goddamn robbery last night and you’re letting defenseless women walk into a safe for shit apartment” he continued, finally pushing past the small policeman, while I quickly got to my feet, wincing at the pain in my knee but made my way to diffuse the situation.. “This is shitty fucking police work,” he nearly growled, stopping when I placed a hand on his arm. His angry composure quickly dissolved as he looked down at me, sadness taking over.

“Hey,” I whispered, while I watched his eyes looked over my bandaged knee and hands. “I fell.” I lied, not wanting him to find more reason to be mad.

“How much?” He asked, while he glanced around my small apartment.

“Everything,” I whispered, tears in my voice.

“It’s fine.” He quickly said, while gently scooping my hands into his. “It’s important that you’re okay.” he lectured. “Go get as much of your clothes as you can and I’ll ask if we can leave.” I opened my mouth to protest and he quickly shook his head, his eye darkening with seriousness. “I have the room, you’re staying with me.” Without another word he turned to find a nearby officer while I made my way to my room. I wasn't surprised to see my smaller tv missing, and my bed slashed to pieces, people get desperate closer to the holidays. Most of my nicer clothes were gone, the couple designer brands I had saved up for were gone, gone just like that. Grabbing an old backpack from my closet I grabbed the last of my work clothes, pajamas, and undergarments; only thing left in my bathroom was my hairbrush and toothbrush. Nice. Packing up my bag I walked back to where Jim was waiting, a serious look still plastered on his face. “Come on,” he whispered while extending his hand out for mine, I let him pull me close and down the musky hallway towards the elevator. “They’ll lock your door up the best they can and we’ll come back tomorrow and get the rest of your things.” I opened to protest but was quickly shut down.

“You’re not staying anywhere else Beesly, so can it.”

Jim’s POV

I was certain that I was going to break off the steering wheel with the white knuckle grip I had, I couldn’t even reach over to touch her leg because she was covered in bandages which fueled my anger more. Thankfully she was sleeping, her head resting against the glass while she lightly snored, I’m sure by the time we got to the house I’d be more calm. I knew that neighborhood was shit, I shouldn’t have let her go home so late, but I couldn’t force her to stay and wait for me, that’s not my place. I should have made sure she left early, but I’m selfishly addicted to her presence. Which is amazing and at the same time becoming more and more difficult to not confess my love for her. And that brings me to the ‘I love you’ problem, which my mom informed me this past weekend wasn’t really a problem.

“Pete tells me you have a girlfriend,” she said, before my butt was even in a chair. My mother called, early this morning, to catch up and asked to meet at a starbucks near their house but it was very obvious she wanted to hound me without my brothers around or she would have done it in the hospital waiting room the other day when I <em>just</em> saw her.

“Morning Mom,” I said sarcastically, before sipping my coffee. Her stern gaze continued and I finally gave in, to avoid what I knew would be the hard way she had perfected over time. “Yes Mom, I met a girl.”

“Well,” she urged, while propping herself on the edge of her chair like she was a gossiping teen in high school. I let out a light laugh while spinning my cup around, my mind drifting to Pam’s beautiful smile and how much I actually missed her in this moment.

“It’s complicated,” I said, feeling like a broken record.

“No.” She said, cutting me off. “You're making it complicated.”

“She’s my assistant, Mom. I just hired her like five weeks ago.”

“Well do you like her?” And before I could answer she added, “Not like how you ‘Liked Karen’ James.” Now, I am a grown ass adult, twenty seven years old and I still feel a bit of fear when my mother calls me by my full name. “Do you see a future with this girl?  Is she someone you’re not going to just fool around with and waste time? Is she mother material, wife material, best friend material?” As she said the words I could feel the connotation of each of them with Pam. I haven’t sat down and drawn the map yet, but yeah, Pam is every single one of those things.

“Yeah Mom,” I whispered, a stupid grin on my face. “She is all of that. Definitely.”

“Then it’s not complicated honey,” she said sweetly, while reaching across the table to grab my hand. “Now hurry the hell up and tell her.  And bring her over, I’d love to meet this girl.”

My grip on the steering wheel lessened as I thought back to my mother's words and how right she was. The whole train ride home all I could think about was seeing Pam, holding Pam, just being near her was all I wanted. I pulled swiftly into the driveway; the motion managed to gently wake Pam, her eyes looking around a bit dazed. We were both quiet as I pulled into the garage and we climbed out, I grabbed her bag from the back and rushed up the steps to get the door for her.

“You know, I haven't been here sober yet,” she laughed lightly while passing by.

“Hopefully you still like it, Sober Beesly.” I teased and followed in behind her. “Why don’t you take a shower and I’ll clean these for you?” I suggested, while she looked around the entry way again. She seems nervous, shaken still. “I’ve got some clothes you can wear tonight.”

“Okay,” she agreed as she smiled up at me. “Thank you.” She quietly began to ascend the stairs while I ventured to the back of the house to the laundry room, a million thoughts going through my head. She obviously can't go in tomorrow. Should I stay home tomorrow too? Would that be too presumptuous? I don’t know, but right now I don’t really care, I just want to be here for her. I want this never to have happened in the first place. I have this incredible desire to protect her like I’ve never felt before. I want to throw on my hero cape and make her my Lois Lane. And now I know I’m crazy but I think it’s really hitting just how crazy in love I am. Wow, ok. Deep breath.  I grip the edge of the dryer and hang my head for a stretch and a few more deep breaths. Ok, this is nothing I don’t know already but I need to focus right now. Pam needs me tonight, I need to be focused and comforting and I need to follow her lead. Ok, think, what else does she need? She needs a new laptop, tv and such, I can help with those things if she’ll let me. I’d buy her the world if she let me.

After starting the load of laundry I made my way to the kitchen to make her some tea, going to try a chai latte, I recently purchased a milk frother in hopes of a night like this, but in more romantic terms.  After placing the tea kettle on the stove I pulled my cell out and dialed Darryls number, even though it was late I knew he’d answer.

“Hey man.” He grumbled.

“Hey,” I sighed. “Uh, Pam and I won't be in tomorrow.

“Oh yeah?” He laughed. I couldn't help but smile a bit. “You’ve got protection right?”

“No, it’s not that.”  I chuckled and walked to the fridge and pulled the milk out. “Her apartment got robbed so she’s got a few things to take care of and I was gonna help her.”

“Oh damn,” he breathed. “Well I’m all for it man, but you know the backlash you’ll get.”

“Oh I know.” I muttered, and began to froth the milk before pulling the water off the stove to start the brew. “We’ll address it eventually, I’ll be on call tomorrow or email.” Pouring the milk into the tea I finished off with a dash of cinnamon and prayed to god it tasted somewhere in the vicinity of those expensive coffee shops.

“Alright man, g’night.”

Shoving the phone back into my pocket I made my way towards the stairs and quickly headed up, I was making my way to the guest bedroom but was surprised to hear the shower coming from the master bedroom. Walking into my bedroom I placed the tea on the nightstand and went to the closet to find some pajamas she could wear. Hopefully she didn't ever come in here or she’ll make fun of all my monkey suits. Finally deciding on grey sweats and a white shirt I headed back into the room to place them on the bed and sneak back out but to my surprise she was standing in the middle of the room, dripping wet, with only a towel wrapped around her.

“Oh,” I choked, as I took in the beautiful sight of her. Her hair hung wet, just above her shoulder blades, droplets of water scattered across her shoulders as she held the white fluffy towel to her chest. “I just grabbed some clothes for you.” I stuttered while laying the bundle of clothes on the bed. “I’ll just step out-”

“Do you have popcorn?” she suddenly asked, her eyebrows knitting together with seriousness. I couldn’t help but break a smile at the sudden urgency for popcorn.

“Yeah, I do.” I chuckled, but furrowed my brow. “Would you like some?”

“I would love some.” She smiled, it was her genuine Beesly smile but her lips were not spread as wide and that sparkle in her eye was nowhere to be found.

“Alright, I will go get the popcorn, you pick out a movie,” I instructed, hoping a little laugh would come out. “All the movies are under the tv,” I gestured to the floating shelf underneath the plasma. She gave me a small nod and I quickly retreated back into the hallway and down the stairs, my head still a little foggy from her beautiful skin. Have I ever seen anyone so beautiful? And she was clearly hurting which was just devastating me. My Pam was hurting. Back in the kitchen I stuck a bag of popcorn in the microwave and grabbed a glass bowl from the cabinet. I pulled a glass cup from another cabinet and began to fill it with ice and pulled out a cola and filled it. I’d stay up with her forever but I was going to need caffeine. After a couple minutes I was heading back up with the popcorn and soda in tow. I quietly entered the room to see her at the head of the bed under the blankets, the sweats I gave her draped over the back of a nearby chair and her hair piled on top of her head fastened by a hair tie, a few perfect curls hung out around her face.

“What did you chose?” I asked, while handing her the bowl and placing the soda on the nightstand.

“Elf,” she smiled, while popping a few pieces of popcorn in her mouth.

“Oh boy.” I laughed while kicking my shoes off and climbing into the bed, keeping myself above the sheets and resting against the backboard. She quickly rearranged herself so she was pressed against my side and the popcorn bowl was resting on top of her legs and she hit play. I’ve never actually watched a lot of tv, if I was watching it, it was usually ESPN and some sports news but I didn’t mind watching the movie, I was mostly focused on her, and the pressure of her body against my arm or the fact that she was in my bed again. I’ve begun to notice things about Pam, adorable quirky things, didn’t take long to catch onto them. Not just how she likes cinnamon on her tea or how she’ll snack on the same flavor of yogurt every day, but real things, like when she’s really concentrating she’ll have a slight furrow to her brow and curl her bottom lip in and bite on it until it’s glowing.  And then there’s how she’s shy and anxious around people she doesn’t know, except at work, at work she’s always shown great confidence, and this one always gets me thinking because the first night we met, that night at the bar, she was anything but shy with me, from the very start. I can’t help but think that means something. And when she walks into a room she is the light of the room, shining bright for me, a light in my life. But I’m getting off track, right now she’s sitting next to me, curled up into my side, gnawing on the tip of her thumb. And I don’t see this often but I know this means she’s got something going on in that head of hers, she’ll do it at her desk from time to time, especially after Karen has visited my office. But here, right now, she’s still upset and I don’t blame her.

“Hey, Bees.” I whispered while bumping her shoulder gently, I watched as her green eyes look up into mine, the rims of them noticeably glistening with tears. “I probably should have asked this earlier, I’m sorry I didn’t. Do you wanna talk about it?” She’s shaking at this point, her top teeth gripping her quivering lip as she fights so hard to hold back the tears, I wrap my arm around her pulling her tightly against me, her legs pulling up to her chest, I could feel her convulsing against me.

“They tried to touch me,” she suddenly gasped, her throat thick with emotion. I felt my heart skip a beat, as my chest contracted at the news. “He-he had his arm around my throat,” I watched as her shaking fingers reached up to touch her throat. “He told me to drop my bag, and I did, then he said I w-was a good girl,” I had to clench my fist to bottle the anger I felt brewing in me, but I couldn’t let it show, I need to be calm for her. “And he,” she paused, clenching her eyes shut, releasing tears down her cheeks, “He opened my pants,” now I was seeing white. “And he gropped me,” she released a painful sob that broke my heart before she continued again, “but the other one told him they had to go and that's when he pushed me down.” I watched as she flipped her hands up, looking down at the bandages on them. “I was so scared,” she sobbed, the sound echoing through me.

“H-hey, hey.” I said, while pulling her into my chest, my arms going around her even tighter and my chin on her head in a way of keeping her together, “You’re safe now, I’ve got you.” I promised, there was no breaking it either, she would never return there again, I will never let her walk into an unsafe area again. “In fact,” I breathed, suddenly feeling nerves pulse through me. <em>Was this the step Halpert, were we ready for this?</em> I was ready for anything with her. “I want you to live here.” There was a moment of silence as her sobbing quietly died down to hiccups, my chest was aching for an answer. “I mean if you're not ready, we can set up one of the guest bedrooms into your own room, own bathroom, we can completely redo it for you if that’s what you would like, Pam.  I just, can’t-” I paused now struggling with my sudden emotions of protecting her and hunting those men down. “I will not let you go back there or anywhere unsafe.”

“Okay,” she whispered after more silence. “I’ll move in.” Then my heart was soaring, she said yes. “But you can't take care of everything, Jim,” she said, her voice steady as she pushed up from my side and rested on her knees to look me dead in the eye. “You hear me Halpert? I make money and I want to contribute.” I couldn't help but smile as the familiar hard ass Beesly was making an appearance, independent Beesly does not need a man, but I’d love to be the man to take care of her.

“Well, Ms. Beesly, how about I make you a deal?” I offered, a smirk resting on my face.

“I’m listening.” she said.

“Well, most of the house is paid for,” I explained, which was a fact, I only had maybe two years left on the mortgage. “And given its size I have cleaners that come regularly, but when it comes to cooking I am pretty helpless.” That was a tad bit of a lie, I wasn't a chef but I knew my way around a kitchen. “So in exchange for some dinner, you live with me.” And let me get you anything you’ve ever dreamed of. She waited and narrowed her eyes at me, which I did also but more of a teasing her way.

“Fine,” she said, that beautiful Beesly smile returning to lips, and confirmed the fact that I was undoubtedly in love with her.

Pam’s POV

Pam’s POV

I couldn’t sleep. It had to be about three am, Jim fell asleep shortly after the movie around one am and I was tossing and turning. When I closed my eyes all I felt was that pervs hands on me, and I couldn’t stand it. I debated taking another shower but I doubt it would wash the feeling away. I rolled over to watch Jim’s face while he slept, he didn’t appear to be in too deep of sleep, his face was very calm, his chest rising and falling evenly. Before bed he discarded his shirt and pulled on the sweat pants I chose to not wear, the material was scratching the bandage on my knee, it would have driven me nuts. Of course he changed in his closet, claiming the laundry basket was in there but I knew it was because of the fact neither of us have seen the other one naked since that first night and sex has only come up once since we started dating. I wanted him right now, I felt like I needed him, I needed his touch to make the other man's touch go away. The thought was making me squirm, I could feel my skin getting flushed at the thought of his hands on my body, touching me where I’ve been wanting, my hands on him exploring places I've dreamt of. Using my elbow as support I quietly and gently leaned over placing my lips over his motionless lips. Like always, it sent a light tingle to the pit of my stomach, the simple action of a kiss giving me such intense feelings.

“You trying to wake me, Beesly?” Jim muttered, sleepily against my lips.

“Is it working?” I whispered, while peppering kisses alongside his jaw, down to his throat.

“Mmm.” He moaned, as I flicked my tongue against his neck. “Maybe.” Trailing back up, I pressed my lips more heavily against his once more, darting my tongue along his bottom lip. He graciously opened letting our tongues stroking against one anothers slowly. It was a deeper and slower kiss, a new one for us, a fire building between us. Carefully, to not irritate my knees, I leaned up and swung my knee over him before resting myself down on to his hips, the bed sheets still over us a bit as I pressed into him more, my lips moving a little more urgently, while his hands were gently rested on my hips under my oversized shirt.

“Hey,” he muttered against my lips, but I continued to kiss him, and gently grinded against his hips, fully aware of the erection growing underneath me. “We don’t need-” Pulling my lips from his I stared down at his concerned eyes with my pleading ones.

“I want to.” I breathed, “I need to feel you.” It came out desperately but I didn’t care, I wanted to feel him, his hands, his mouth, everything. Before he could argue again I pressed my lips against his, more firmly, stroking my tongue against the roof of his mouth, rolling my hips forward, feeling his erection rubbing against my throbbing core. His hands tightened against my hips as we began to pick up a rhythm of grinding back and forth together. His erection was now fully noticeable against the soft sweatpant material, and I was becoming noticeably wet through my silk panties. I wanted more. I abruptly straightened up, my eyes locked with his as he stared at me confused and breathing heavily. Reaching the bottom of the white shirt, I quickly pulled it over my head and discarded it to the floor. I watched nervously as his eyes ran over my bare chest, I could feel myself becoming flush as his eyes darkened. Slowly he began to sit up, sliding me gently down his waist, till my legs were folded underneath me, but I was still seated comfortably on his lap. He slowly reached out with his hand to caress my breast, it fitting perfectly in the palm of his hand, he gently brushed the pad of his thumb over my nipple, his eyes locked, watching the light pink skin begin to peak up before he took it in between his lips. I couldn’t help myself, as my head rocked back and I released a moan, my breast have always been extremely sensitive. I felt the large palm of his hand press against my back, pushing more of my breast into his mouth, as his soft tongue toyed with my nipple. With my hands on his shoulders, I tried to rock myself against him once more, feeling myself beginning to pulse with arousal. Noticing my need, he quickly turned us over, pushing my back into the soft sheets, with his lips still locked around my nipple he thrust himself against me, my knees slacking open at the sensations overwhelming me as I moaned into his ear. Releasing his lips, he quickly moved over to my other begging nipple and continued to rock his hips against mine. Feeling my courage build I reached down between us feeling him pause as the tips of my fingers reached the elastic of both the sweats and his briefs. Pulling his lips from my chest with a lot of effort he raised himself till we were eye to eye again. His hazel eyes were filled with lust but I could see the concern lurking.

“Pam,” he whispered. “I don’t want you to feel like you have to please me, I can wait.”

“I can't.” I said, my voice not skipping a beat. “I want this Jim.” We continued a stare down, his eyes searching mine until I saw the concern flutter away.

“Then let me do this.” He said, while reaching down and gently grabbing my hand and placing it above my head, before he leaned down and pressed a kiss between my breast. His lips quickly began to travel, placing a seductive kiss under my breast, another between my lower ribs, one above my belly button, it wasn’t until he kiss he placed right above my underwear did I realize where he was going.

“You don't have to do that.” I choked, quickly, while gripping his shoulder. Honestly I've never had this, I’ve lost my virginity of course, just simple sex in my opinion, but during and after college it never left the making out in my dorm stage. I've never experimented, I guess, is the term.

“Trust me, Pam,” he said, his breath hot against my lower abdomen. “I want to.” Unable to find words I looked down in aw as he hooked his finger through my panties and quickly pulled them down, throwing them over his shoulder. My heart was pounding so loudly I couldn't hear my gasp as he quickly hitched up both my legs so my thighs were resting on either side of his head. I’m sure my breathing was loud as my head rested back against the pillows so I could stare down at him, there. He was <b>there!</b> I was suddenly very grateful I used the bikini waxing kit Isabel got me when she came by this weekend. His breath brushing against me was enough to make my thighs quiver. With just one dark glance up to me he quickly leaned down to press a kiss against my wet and aching lips.  I was forced to squeeze my eyes shut and shove my head back into the pillow as a loud moan that echoed through the room escaped my throat. “Oh Pam,” he groaned, before placing his lips over the sensitive bud and gently sucking. Air was stuck in my throat as my hips bucked against the bed and my hand clenched around the pillow case. His tongue swirled around my clit while his large hands held my legs apart, the cold hair rushing to the wetness dripping down me. He released my clit, worry suddenly clouding my mind until his tongue reached the bottom and took one long lap to the top.

“Ohmygod,” I managed in a rush, feeling his nose burry into me as his tongue began to stroke inside of me, my knuckles turning white as I gripped the pillow for some will. The pressure was quickly building, the pounding in my clit getting more and more unbearable as he continued to lap his large tongue against me. “Jim-” I gasped, when he sucked my clit gently between his lips, the pressure making me grind my hips into his mouth. “I can’t.” I tried.

“Don’t, Pam.” he whispered, while listing his head too look at me with his dark eyes, his lips glistening with the little light from the the clock on his dresser. “I want you to cum.” That sentence alone was almost enough.

“I want you.” I gasped, as he dragged the pad of his thumb down my slick slit, pausing to tease my entrance.

“Oh, you’ll get me Beesly.” He smirked, “But I want you to have this.” Without waiting for an answer I watched in awe as he spread my legs a bit further, before lowering his lips down to capture my clit once more, then painfully slow he entered one long finger into me.  

“AH,” I groaned loudly, I’m sure the neighbors heard me at this point. His finger was so long, soft but rough as he pulled himself in and out, while his lips sucked harder on my clit. I could barely take it, my hips bucking off the bed, I felt that explosion building low in my stomach, right under Jims mouth, and just as he slid in another finger and began to pump I collapse around him, a loud scream releasing from my lips as he continued to pump and I rode out my orgasm. There were white orbs in my vision as my chest rose up and down and I came back to the world. I noticed Jim’s fingers slip out, and he carefully crawled up to hover over me, a smirk on his face, of course.

“You alright Beesly?” I only managed a nod as my breathing returned to normal, before he could roll off of me I leaned my hand down toward top of his erection that was clearly straining against the fabric of his pants.

“You sure,” he groaned as I pressed my hand down more firmly against him, he couldn't help it when he grinded harder into my hand, “You’re not sore.” I shook my head, and squeezed him, watching his eyes flutter shut. Not able to help myself I quickly slipped my hand under his briefs letting my fingers come in contact with his very large, and hot erection. “Pam,” he hissed, as I wrapped my hands around him and began to pump. I was completely inexperienced in this department but I remember Isabel made me watch a few crazy films with her when Steve was out of town. Using what I could remember I ran the palm of my hand over the tip of him letting the pre cum smear on my hands and gilded it back down the shaft, he ducked his head into the nook of my neck, his breath hot in my ear. “I won’t last if you keep that up,” he chuckled. I immediately stopped and began to shove his pants down, my eyes going a bit wide at the sight of him fully naked. I wanted to look away, the sight was too amazing. “I have a condom,” he said while reaching for the night table, I shook my head on the down feather pillow.

“I’m on the pill.” I trusted Jim and I hope he trusted me. He gave me a look of concern and I quickly nodded, while raising my hips to meet his, shuddering at the skin to skin contact.

“Mhm,” he groaned. “You’re going to kill me, Beesly.” he said, before straightening himself up and alining himself at my entrance. I didn’t dare say anything as I watched him slowly begin to fill me, I couldn’t stop the hiss from the back of my throat as he was much larger than really anything I have experienced. “You okay?” He huffed, once he was fully in and settled. I nodded and reached for his hand, lacing and squeezing his fingers. Lifting the hand above my head he gently began to pump in and out of me, the slight sting quickly dissolved to pleasure, my nails digging into his hand as his lips sucked on the thin skin of my neck. The pace was excruciating, I wanted more, but this was for him, I was already taken care of, but there was no denying that I was thrusting my hips up to meet his, feeling his pelvic bone dig into my clit every time. “I’m gonna go faster,” he whispered into my skin and all I could do was nod. Slowly his hips began to pick up the pace and my moans got louder, along with the thudding of the bed frame against the wall. It was incredibly sexy. His long fingers wrapped around my thigh, quickly hitching it up onto his hip before he thrusted further into me, and I released a strangled cry. With this new angle I was close all over again, “Baby, I- can't-last-much-longer.” he grunted with each thrust.

“Finish Jim.” I gasped, squeezing his hand. Dropping his head back into my neck his movement began to become sporadic as he searched for his release, like he was running a marathon. As he began to constrict against me I suddenly found my release once more and he finally found his as he groaned my name loudly in my ear. We lay together, connected, just breathing and holding onto each other for a few extra moments before he shifted, pulling himself out and collapsing against me. The room was quiet besides our labored breathing, his long arm was wrapped around my waist as he pulled my sweaty body against his, placing his lips against my shoulder blade. It was perfect, every second of this was perfect and I couldn't imagine it getting better, then he whispered against my skin.

“I love you, Pam.”

Chapter 14

Pam’s POV

It was morning again when I peeled my eyelids open, I was concerned at first when I realized I wasn’t in my own room but memories of the robbery flickered through my mind and I felt a great deal of sadness. Everything I saved for, and worked hard for was gone, not to mention how violated I felt, my home, my body. Then I remembered Jim asked me to move in with him. Turning onto my side I was sad to see his spot was empty and cold, he’s probably been up for a while.  Groaning to myself I rolled onto my back and looked up at the ceiling, trying to map my life out onto the white spackled wall. I mean all of this was moving crazy fast, we’ve really only known each other six weeks and were talking about living together, I’ve never lived with anyone before, and he said it himself he didn’t want to live with Karen. Well he did say he loved you last night. Holy shit he did! After the amazing sex and I fell asleep!

“Oh Pam.” I groaned and covered my face with my hands. He’s probably upset! You tell a girl you love her and she responds by falling asleep. Well, what’s the answer, Beesly? This is all new to me, very new to me, I barely had flings in college let alone a serious, committed, relationship. Was I ready for this? Was he ready for this? And we needed to talk. I quickly got to my feet, pulling on the crumpled white shirt from the floor and my underwear from under the bed.  I was unable to locate my bra and didn’t bother with pants since the shirt was well past my butt and I hurried my way out of the bedroom and down the stairs where I was quickly greeted with the scent of cinnamon and syrup. Tiptoeing across the cold marble floor I peeked my head into the kitchen where Jim was busy at work in front of the stove, only wearing sweatpants low on his hips. Now, finally able to stare at his shirtless back I could clearly see that he was lean and fit and probably worked out more than he was leading on or what I had assumed. The scraggly looking man I thought he was had muscles in his back that looked to be handmade, a couple leading to a “V” in his lower back, hidden under the band of his sweatpants and perky butt of course.

“You just going to stare Beesly?” he suddenly asked, while glancing back at me over his shoulder. I couldn’t help but blush the deepest crimson, feeling like a little girl caught creeping on her crush. “Or are you going to come over here and kiss me?”

“How do you feel about morning breath?” I asked, I was sure I had plenty of it at the moment.

“Love it,” he smiled, opening his free arm waving me to come over. I walked quickly across the floor into his warm arm, enjoying the way it wrapped strongly around my waist and held me to his side, before he pressed his sugary lips against mine.

“Someone has been hitting the syrup.” I mumbled against his lips.

“It’s my favorite.” He whispered. He kissed me more deeply, making my mind drown before he pulled away too soon and began to tend to his french toast, but keeping me glued to his side, my fingers dragged aimlessly up and down his toned abdomen. “So about last night.” I have this feeling he’s going to try and apologize for the ‘I love you, Pam’. I just know it, so I need to interrupt.

“I want to talk about that too,” I said, already feeling my nerves rise to a lump in my throat. “I know what you said last night, and the move, and just everything; and I don’t want you to feel obligated to move me in here” He opened his mouth to protest but I shook my head and pulled away from him to face him directly. “I love you Jim.” I could feel the wave of excitement and nervous crashing against my stomach as I admitted it to myself, and him, for the first time. He quickly tore his eyes away from the toast and looked deeply into mine like he was searching for a but in the sentence, or a joke. “It took me a second to map it all out and find the answer for myself, but I do. I love you, and I want this to be right.” I couldn't stop the smile that was spreading so largely on my lips, while I measured his reaction.

“You love me?” He asked, a smile slowly spreading, but disbelief still held in his eyes as he placed his spatula down and faced me.

“Yes, but listen.” I said sternly while placing my hands on my hips. “I want this right, we’re doing this for us, not because I got robbed and you feel the need to help me.” His smile was still glowing as he sauntered his was over to me, looking like he was ready to devour me. “Jim, if you couldn't do this with Karen, what makes me so different?” I finally asked, instantly regretting it as I watched his eyebrows furrow.

“That’s the but?” He asked, his tone sounding like he was about to laugh.

“Shut up!” I whined and crossed my arms. “I’m serious, I don't want to do this this the wrong way.” Still not saying anything, but smiling, Jim closed the distance between us, gently wrapping his arms around me, flattening me against his chest.

“Pam,” he said softly, his sweet breath washing over my face. “Everything about this is different, you’re different, I’m different and I want all of these things with you. Yes, it’s not the most appropriate way, but when has anything about us been normal?” That was a good point. “I love you Pam, and I would love to hear you say it again.”

“I love you.” I smiled, and was immediately swept up into a large hug and spun around the large kitchen. Wrapping my legs around his torso I squeezed him as tightly as I could enjoying the moment of just pure happiness between us. But of course my cell phone began to ring in the other room, and our little moment was gone. “Get it,” he encouraged, while setting me down and nudging me towards the foyer, the smile on his face must be visible from space, I’m sure mine was too. Quickly, I walked to the foyer where my phone was ringing in a dish next to Jim’s phone and keys. Grabbing it I was surprised to see my mother calling and answered immediately.

“Hey mom.” I said, while tiptoeing into the next room.  I found myself in a very “guy” living room. With a large, what had to be at least, twelve seat leather couch in front of a ridiculously big tv, and on the opposite side near the backyard window was an ornate pool table. I can easily picture Jim and his friends spending hours in this room, watching various sports or shooting some pool.

“There you are Pammy!” She basically screamed into the phone, startling me out of my reverie. “Where are you?!”

“What do you mean?” I asked, dodging the question, I didn't want to announce where I was, she’d have a field day and the news would travel immediately to my sister.

“Well your dad had business in the area so I was going to surprise you for lunch at work!”

“Lunch?” I asked, and tried to find a clock on the wall, there is no way I slept that late. “What time is it?”

“It’s almost twelve you silly goose, now where are you?” She pressed.

“Uh.” I paused. “I’m at Jim’s.” I said slowly, almost sounding out every word.

“Oh my,” she laughed.

“Oh hush. My place got robbed and trashed, so he let me stay here.” And there was mind blowing sex and we love each other, no big deal.

“Oh my god, Pam what?!” She shouted again. Pinching the bridge of my nose I released a long sigh and opened my mouth to respond in a reassuring or calming way, but before I could my cell phone was yanked from hand. Spinning around I watched as Jim shoved a cup of tea into my hand as he held the phone to his ear and wagged his eyebrows at me.

“Hello, Mrs. Beesly?” He asked, smiling down at me. “Yes, Jim Halpert here, I just wanted you to know that Pam is a hundred percent okay, no harm to her at all, and why don't I take the Beesly ladies out for a nice lunch?” he offered. I smiled into my cup of hot tea as I watched him make my mother into a puddle. “Great! I’ll send an Uber to come get you. See you soon, Helene.” He said before hanging up and handing me my phone.

“Ooh, Helene?” I laughed.

“Were on a first name basis now.” He bragged, as he reached out for me and pulled me against his chest, my cup of tea in the middle, the steam rising and slowing wakening my senses.

“What about your french toast?” I asked. “I was looking forward to the Halpert special.”

“Something you should know, Beesly, I have many specialties,” he pointed out. “But this is an opportunity to meet your mother, and I’m not going to miss it so up you go.” he quipped, while pushing me towards the stairs and lightly smacking me on the butt. “Go shower while I send the uber to get your mother and make our reservations.” I was lost for words as I made my way up the stairs, a stupid grin permanently on my face.  Making my way back into the master bedroom, I ventured back into the bathroom, which he said was recently redone and was probably larger than my whole apartment. The floor was all black marble, countertops were nicely coordinated in grey granite, and brushed nickel handles and hardware. The counter held double sinks; Jim appeared to favor the left one, his hair products and toothbrush scattered along side the counter, I noticed my hair brush and toothbrush were neatly waiting for me on the right side. And then this crazy toilet that does all but wipe your ass. But I was solely here for the shower that poured water over your head like rain, it was an all black, open walk in shower.  This style was very new for me and I still don't understand how the whole bathroom doesn't get wet, and I felt incredibly exposed, but the way this shower felt was beyond worth it. Stripping myself of my pajamas I turned the shower on and waited a few seconds till it was hot before walking in. I couldn't help the small moan that slipped between my lips as I relaxed the tense muscles in my back and let the hot water pour over me. Quickly, I lathered my hair up with shampoo followed by Jim’s fancy conditioner. No wonder his hair was so soft and flowy. Taking his loofah I used his, also fancy, Eucalyptus and Lavender body wash and started to suds up my body, enjoying the way it seem to just make my muscles melt. The real struggle was trying to reach the spot between my shoulder blades, where I always carried my tension.

“Let me get that.” Jim rough voice, startled me as I flipped around to watch him walk into the shower, already naked. Also excited as well. Like I said, without coming off bragging, wow. Just wow. “Figured we could save some water and time too.” He said with a wag of his eyebrows, before grabbing the loofah from me, and dousing it with more body wash.

“You use that line on everyone?” I laughed, while turning my back to him and letting him rub the loofah between my shoulder blades, I could feel the suds make their way down my back and over my bottom, tingling the back of my thighs.

“Contrary to popular belief Beesly, you're the first women to be in my bed, and live here.” He informed me, while pressing a little harder with the loofah, moving it over my shoulders causing suds to run own the front of my chest.

“Really?” I managed inbetween a small groan, as the loofah was suddenly replaced by his fingers and he began to gently massaged the tight muscle.

“Mhm,” he hummed, while circulating his fingers to my shoulders and collarbone, his thumbs just pressing all the right places. I couldn't help when my head rocked back and I let out a moan. “First women I’ve talked non stop about, first women to sleep in my clothes, use my shower.” His fingers slowly rotated their way over my shoulders till they both cupped my breast, and he squeezed gently. “First women I’ve made love to in that bed.” My breathing was already becoming labored and loud as he gently massaged my breast, running the pad of his thumb over my nipple. “First women I’ve ever loved, truly.” Finally it was just unbearable and I whirled around until my lips met his. I was ready to swallow him whole. Gently he pushed me back against the rough tile wall, while his tongue claimed dominance over mine. His strong hands were on the back of my thighs where he lifted till my legs were wrapped around his waist and we were at head level, I could feel his growing erection painfully close to my opening.

“How much time do we have?” I gasped when I pulled my lips away to breathe, but his continued down the side of my throat and to the the base of my neck, his hand squeezing the soft skin of my butt.

“Not enough for what I want to do to you.” I could feel his smirk against my neck, before he raised his head to kiss me gently on the lips. “We’ve got all the time in the world, after your mom leaves,” he laughed before gently lowering me back to the floor. “Besides, I already have to rush my morning beauty routine,” he joked while grabbing the shampoo bottle and lathering his hair.

“Oh no, how will the flowy hair survive?”

He wasn't joking though, a normal get ready routine was cut extremely short. With a limited clothing supply I had no choice but to wear a black long sleeve flowy dress with my black booties and tan scarf. My hair was a lost hope without my curling iron so I twisted it into a ballerina bun and all my makeup was stolen but at least I got to brush my teeth. Of course Jim used little effort to look amazing, wearing black slacks, with a black and white checkered button up, skinny black tie and grey sweater. I just watched in awe as he rolled up the sleeves to just before his elbow and took a seat on the edge of the bed to pull on black dress shoes. I should probably pinch myself at some point because there is no way he is real. The sound of knocking from downstairs quickly shook me of my day dream.

“Ready Beesly?” He asked, while getting to his feet and grabbing my hand as I passed.

“Are you ready, Halpert?” I challenged, no where did I say my family was easy.

“Pfft,” he scoffed, while leading me out of the bedroom and down the stairs. “I was born ready.” I wasn't, my heart was already beginning to pound as we got closer and closer to the door, where Jim let go of my hand and opened the large door. “You must be Helene?” He smiled, while letting my mother pass through the door, her eyes already past Jim and me, searching all around the house.

“I am, I have to say. You have a gorgeous home, Jim.” She praised while walking up to me and gently pulling me into her arms. “He’s a looker!” She whispered, though it was clear by the smile on Jim’s face that he heard it.

“Hi Mom.” I laughed, while squeezing her briefly then letting her wander towards the kitchen.

“Well, I made reservations at La Croix,” Jim announced, grabbing my moms attention from the kitchen, swinging his keys in hands.

“Oh I hear their French Onion is amazing.” My mom smiled, and followed Jim and me to the garage. Climbing into the passenger side I watched as Jim got the door for my mother; I could already tell she was tallying points in her head.

“Are you seeing Isabel later tonight?” I asked, as Jim pulled out of the garage and down the driveway.

“Yes, for dinner, maybe we can all do something.” She suggested, her tone clearly pointed at Jim, who rested his hand on my exposed knee. Just this little touch was enough to make my heart flutter.

“There is an amazing restaurant downtown, Del Frisco’s. Best steak in town.” Jim said, obviously catching onto my mothers hint. “I could get us a table tonight if you’d like?”

“Sounds lovely.” I watched in the mirror as a smile spread across my mother's lips. Looking at Jim I stifled a giggle as he flashed me a wink with a kiss. “Have you called your insurance yet, Pam?”

“Not yet, not sure if I should, everything's gone.” I explained and squirmed slightly in my seat, the thought of all my clothes and belongings probably being sold off right now made me cringe.

“Hence a summer dress near snowfall.” My mother muttered.

“I like it.” Jim added, running his thumb back and forth over my knee cap.

“I’m sure we could reach into some savings and get you the things you need.” I opened my mouth to protest, I’ve never been one to take my family’s money, they put me through school, there is no more that I need to take from them.

“Besides a wardrobe, Pam has anything she needs back at the house.” Jim said, his eyes never veering from the road, I tried to send him a look of shock. “Which she will be getting with this new bonus she got from work.” My eyebrows must have been touching my hairline at this point with the amount of shock on my face.

“You got a bonus Pam?” My mother asked, once again I let Jim do the explaining because I was at loss for words.

“Oh yeah, the new Toronto contract, all of Pam’s designs, including the new ones for the Blue Jays as well.” It wasn't a lie, I did do all of the designs for the teams but Jim and I hadn’t talked about any extra compensation. I honestly didn't feel the need to ask, I wasn't doing it for the money.

“Oh, Pammy that's great!” She cheered. “Art school is already showing it’s perks.” Thankfully we arrived at the restaurant before we could talk more about money as I was currently the only one in the car making well under 40k. Jim pulled through the curved driveway, handing his keys off to the valet, before escorting me and my mother through the Rittenhouse Hotel. I knew just from tourist guides that this road and hotel were of some of the most popular attractions in Philly, most likely due to all the shops and restaurants they have. Right in the front of the hotel, off to the right, was the La Croix restaurant, clearly on the higher end of the budget. It boasted a lavishly decorated open floor plan with all windows overlooking a large fountain in the front of the hotel.

“Hi, welcome to La Croix.” The smiling hostess welcomed us.

“Hey there, party for Halpert.” Jim said, while keeping a hand low on my back and pulling me closer to his side.

“Right this way,” she smiled even bigger and began to lead us toward our table, in the back, by the beautiful window. Jim managed, very smoothly, to pull out both chairs for me and my mother, before taking a seat next to me and draping his arm comfortably behind my shoulders. “Can I get you started with any drinks?” She asked, with a pen and paper in hand. I quickly tried to glance over the cocktail list, alcohol was not really on my mind but the look of the Lemon Grass seemed very refreshing.

“I’ll have a glass of Chardonnay.” My mother replied, she’s always drinking wine, never missing the opportunity.

“I’ll do the Victory Pilsner.” Jim said, while glancing over my shoulder as I pointed to the lemon drink. “And she’ll have the Lemon Grass. Could we also start with some bread?” He requested. Food was no joke with Jim, he once told me that as he got older and more wise (but I’m sure he meant wealthier) food was not an object to him.

“Of course.” She chirped before walking away.

“Your family here in Philly, Jim?” My mother asked, her eyes dead set on him like she was trying to enter his brain with her mind.

“New York actually, both my parents and brothers.”

“Oh really, what part?” She asked, already intrigued.

‘Well my parents are up in West Chester, while my two older brothers are in Bronxville.” Jim said, as his fingers made circles along the back of my arm. Before my mom could ask their occupation, Jim answered with a smirk on his face. “My father is a personal Physical Therapist, mostly athletes in the area, my brother Tom is a Architect, and Pete is a VP Business Developer for a printing company.” Thankfully our drinks appeared before she could ask anymore questions.  While I took a large gulp of my Lemongrass, Jim ordered the turkey club with fries for both of us, of course my mother chose the onion soup.

“So you're obviously in the Sports Marketing business,” my mom said, as she sipped her chardonnay. “What got you started in that?”

“Honestly,” Jim chuckled, as he took drink of his beer. “My freshman year in college I was planning to major in Literature and become an English Teacher. My roommate, at the time, and I were a bit under the influence of some herbs.” I almost snorted my drink through my nose, quickly reaching for my napkin to dab my mouth. “And somehow I just kind of pictured what I could do with this company I ended up switching majors the next day and got a patent on Athlead a week later.” Even I was very intrigued with these stories, given the time and intimacy with each other recently, we both still have a lot to learn. “Of course, it wasn't as big as it is today, it took about two years to kick off and then we were based out of our apartment. But these last five years we’ve done more than we ever have. We got a new building, we’re traveling, and now with Pam’s help we’ve recently won an international contract, hopefully two.”

“You sound very bright Jim.” My mother smiled at me with a look of approval. “William would love to meet you.”

“I’d like to think so,” Jim smiled, down at me. “I can't wait to meet the rest of the Beesly’s.”

“Think twice before you meet Isabel,” my mother  and I said as the same time. I could feel the nerves on my shoulders lift as my mother began to lighten up and clearly enjoy Jim like I do. Between the second glass of wine and Jim paying the lunch bill she seemed ready to go to bat for him no matter what now.

“Thank you so much for lunch Jim,” she purred, as we walked back out into the cold air, clouds beginning to cover the Philly sky, that always made the building feel bigger to me.

“Of course, Helene.” Jim said, while pulling his phone from his pocket, I watched his nose scrunch up as he read the screen. “If you could excuse me for a moment, sorry.” He apologized, putting the phone to his ear and walking a few feet away.

“Darling, he’s amazing,” my mom cheered, while my eyes were still on the back of his neck, trying my best to measure his emotion. “How big is he?”

“Oh my god! Mom!” I hissed, my eyes wide at her comment. “How much have you had?”

“Oh hush,” she snickered. “It’s an honest question. You know a man's company is only as good as his di-”

“Sorry ladies but it sounds like duty calls,” Jim announced and he thankfully cut my mothers sentence off.

“Everything alright?” I asked, aware of the annoyed look on his face.

“Oh yeah, just some business I gotta take care of but I need you to do me a favor,” he said, while reaching into his pocket for his wallet. “Take this,” he quickly wrapped my fingers around his sleek black credit card. “Buy yourself some clothes.”

“Oh, no,” I quickly stuttered trying to shove the card back into his hand, while looking at my mother whose tipsy eyes were thankfully checking out the valet boy. “I can't and don't need this.”

“It’s a favor to me,” he smirked and push it back into my hands. “Get some work clothes, purse, wallet, some shoes, everything you lost.”

“That’s not a favor to you.” I grumbled, while crossing my arms with the card tightly in my hand, my eyes narrowing up at him.

“No, but maybe some new lacy things for later?” He suggested, and wagged his brows at me, while I blushed a deep crimson. “White is my favorite color on you, but get whatever you want and I’ll be back in two hours.”  

“Shouldn’t I come with you?” I asked, after all, I am his assistant.

“No, no, no.” He said, while leaning forward to place a quick kiss on my forehead. “I need you to do this though, can't have a closet with no clothes in it. And you better follow through,” he warned, before letting go and heading over to my mother. “Alright Helene, I leave her in your hands, make sure she gets what she needs, or wants.” He laughed, while kissing my mother on the cheek and headed off towards the valet to get his keys, glancing back at me to mouth I love you, before he quickly got in his car and drove off.

“You can never go wrong with a mans credit card,” my mom chucked, while linking her arm with mine and pulling me toward the shops, of course being downtown Philly these were going to be exquisite shops.

“Oh god.”

Jim’s POV

I hated the feeling of leaving her there, but there was no sense in dragging her along with me and I knew, just going off my first impression of Helene that she’ll make her buy some nice and expensive clothes. And this makes me happy, money doesn’t matter to me at this point, especially now that Pam is in the equation. Besides, this work issue is minor, it just seems to be a small hiccup on the prints for the Raptors. The design layout on the uniforms wasn’t quite working for the fan merchandise so Bobby is freaking out, understandably, because their first game was in a matter or weeks. Darryl wouldn't have called if it wasn't important. And I have to admit, it would take my mind off of how nervous I actually was about dinner tonight; which I still need to call and make our reservations. But there was nothing that could bring down that fact that she loves me, she way the three words just rolled off her tongue, and how she felt in my arms as she said them. And last night? Just indescribable, and worth all the wait, I’d wait years if it were going to be like that, she’s perfect, and I know that is a ridiculous word to use but she is. I arrived at our building in just minutes and quickly made my way inside, wanting to spend as little time here as possible and more time with Pam, I didn't even bother with a hello to Ryan as I passed is desk and loaded onto the elevator. When the doors opened again;  Andy, Darryl, Kelly and Karen were all sitting around in the waiting area of my floor.

“Hey man,” Darryl said, as he got to his feet handing me the large iPad with Toronto’s designs already pulled up. “Sorry to bring you in. How’s Pam doing?”

“She’s good, out shopping with her mom. Speaking of which, we need to put in an order for a new laptop for her, since hers was taken last night.” I said, my tone neutral since Kelly and Karen were clearly hanging onto every word. Scandal, boss and assistant both out today. “Now what’s the problem?” I glanced over the pictures of the merchandise, it looked exactly like the prints we sent two weeks ago.

“Mr. Webster is getting feedback that the basketball with the claw marks is only catching to children and not the adult audience.” Kelly explained, while reading her customer service report to me.

“And you explained this was in the pitch?” I asked.

“Yes. I went over the invoice and he wants the drawing that Pam had added to the pile and pushed through for manufacturing, like, tomorrow.”

“Is he aware of the overages?” I questioned.

“Yeah,” Karen answered. “I went over every new price point and the extra percentage for the rush.”

“Okay,” handing Darryl the iPad. “I’ll find the picture and we’ll get it send out for skid printing today, and I want it overnighted tonight, and those shirts need to be boxed and ready to go by tomorrow night.” I ordered, while making my way to Pam’s desk and pulling my cell out to text her.

Reaching into her bottom drawer I found the drawing underneath some paperwork and I understood why she didn’t want me to judge. Drawn on the back was a doodle of me, a pretty funny one and I couldn’t help the wide smile spreading across my face.  It was me, standing in front of thousands of suits, with a quote bubble above me saying ‘TOO MANY STRAIGHT JACKETS.’ I wanted nothing more than to frame this and put it on my desk, maybe I could after the skids are made.

“You find it?” Karen's cold voice appeared behind my shoulder.

“Oh yeah,” I said, while turning to hand her the drawing, I noticed immediately that she was clearly in a bad mood. “Everything okay?” I asked, as a boss.

“I’m mean, if we're being honest, kind of picking up the slack because of your guys hooky day.” I wasn't entirely surprised at Karen’s forwardness but annoyed as how harsh her tone was.

“How about we go into my office.” I suggested, while getsuring her to lead the way.

“Gladly.” She basically growled while heading into my office. I followed suit fully aware of the eyes on us as I shut the door and walked to sit on the edge of my desk while she stood with her arms crossed, and the drawing almost crumbling into her fist.

“What would you like to talk about?” I asked, calmly.

“The fact that sleeping with your assistant is better than being with me,” she sneered. Of course before I could open my mouth for a defense she kept going on like always. “I don't get it James, she’s been here for barely two months and you do everything with her. You told me up and down that you can't handle dating someone you work with and yet here you are clearly sleeping with her.”

“Karen, honestly, that is none of your business, what is transpiring between Pam and me, it hasn't affected the workplace and it shouldn't be affecting it. Pam has done a wond-”

“A wonderful fucking job,” she snapped, throwing her arms up into the air. “I get it, she's a fucking gift from above. What else is it, Jim? Is she better at sex? Suck your dick better? Is she a better cook? You obviously like them young too.  Is she better at comforting you? You’ve literally thrown everything you've got at her, so she’s obviously more special than I was. You probably fucking love her too”

“I do!” I finally snapped, feeling my blood pulse in my neck as frustration over came me, I couldn't just stand here and listen to her tarnishing Pam’s name for one more second. “She’s everything Karen, she’s everything you weren’t and I’m sorry if you can't be happy for me or move on from it but that’s what it is. I’m sorry if this hurts but I love her, she is everything to me now, and I don’t doubt for a second she’s the one.” Of course I felt like a dick as I watched complete sadness and despair wash over her face, but it needed to be said.

“Um,” her voice cracked, and she quickly brushed a tear off her cheek, avoiding my eyes to appear stronger than she was. “I need to a leave,” she said abruptly.

“Alright,” I sighed, I could grant her this. She obviously needed some time for herself to figure things out. “Give the Toronto file to Dwight and you can have two weeks.” I offered, I needed to make sure to talk to Toby to use company time so she wouldn't retaliate any further.

“Thanks,” she whispered before turning on her heal, rushing out of my office, and basically running to the elevator; I noticed Kelly rushing to comfort her. I’m sure with how strong my tone was that the others heard what I said. Getting up I slumped into my desk chair and turned on my computer as Darryl peaked his head in.

“You alright man?” He asked, which I only managed to reply with a shrug while glancing through my emails. “Well I figure the news will spread fast.” He added, as he walked into my office and shut the door behind him before taking a seat. I looked up and noticed the smirk on his face, and the quick wiggle of his brows.

“What?” I asked, even though I was already well aware of what was about to come.

“Nothing man, just, you know,” he chucked, while scratching his chin. “You’ve just got that after glow going on.”

“Nope.” I replied, though a smile was stretched along my lips. “No details.”

Chapter 15

Pam’s POV

“Mom this is ridiculous.” I scorned my mother as she tried to drag me into what was clearly a wedding ring boutique.

“Oh, come on,” she hissed, “There is no harm in looking.” There was plenty harm in looking with the amount of bags dangling off both our arms and the amount of times I have swiped this card. I felt like I was going to vomit and I was nervous of his reaction. He should be close to returning, he’s been gone nearly two and a half hours and my father should be wrapping up his business too; it was almost five o’clock and I was getting hungry again. With the thought of food now in my head I eased up and let my mother drag me into the shop. The sparkle alone on some of these was enough to blind me. “Sweetie some of these are just gorgeous.” She wasn't lying, looking through the glass case these were the prettiest rings I've ever seen, in all sorts of shapes, color and sizes.

“Hello ladies,” an older lady greeted us, she looked like a professional, based off of her manicured fingers and thin glasses. “What brings you in today.”

“We would like to look at some engagement rings, for my daughter here.” My mother explained, taking rein on the ship.

“Of course,” she said softly. “Do you have a particular ring or style in mind?”

“Um, no-not really.” I stammered, the only slightly expensive jewelry I’ve ever owned was a Tiffany pendant my dad gave me at sixteen.

“How about a color?”

“Do you have any rose gold?” I asked, pink and rose colors have always been a favorite of mine.  

“And a preferred cut?” She asked, while gesturing for us to follow her down the way of the glass cases, to a section reserved for rose gold rings.

“Oval?”

“Well I have this new one, just in from England.” She offered, while reaching under the glass to pull out the ring. “Valencia Diamond band, 2.82 carat weight, and 90% flawless, just stunning. Only maybe a dozen made, one in oval cut being this one, so very rare, and only six six.” She wasn't lying as she laid the ring down onto a black piece of velvet the beauty of the ring was amazing. The band was rose gold with the smallest diamonds embedded along the band, leading up to the beautiful center diamond. “Would you like to try it on?” She asked, breaking me from my trance.

“Oh no-”

“She’d love to!” My mom chirped while basically thrusting my hand out towards the women. I didn't notice that I was holding my breath until she slid the ring all the way down, and I gasped in satisfaction that it fit, like a glove I might add. “Oh Pam, that's gorgeous,” my mom sighed.

“It is.” I whispered, while rocking my hand back and forth, watching the ring twinkle in the light just a million different ways. “How much?” I found myself asking.

“Around forty.”

“Forty thousand?!” Both my mom and I shouted, startling the lady.

“Yes, like I said, it’s a very rare cut and only a dozen made.”

“Wow.” I whispered, and stared down at the ring a bit depressed, such a beautiful ring I can never see myself owning. I began to take it off and gently place it on the velvet cloth as my cell phone began to ring. “Thank you so much ma’am.” I said, while shuffling my bags around to grab my phone and place it to my ear.

“Hello?”

“Hey,” Jim’s voice greeted me on the other line. “Where you at, Beesly?” He asked, the way the phone echoed he was clearly in the car.

“Oh uh,” I stuttered while spinning around to grab my mother's hand and began to drag her out of the jewelry shop, the foot traffic on the walkway was beginning to die down as we got closer to dinner time. “We’re right on Rittenhouse Square, in front of the jewelry store.” I stood on my tiptoes to scope out the sleek black car.

“Ohh,” he hummed. “Jewelry store? Find anything good?”

“Nope,” I lied. I could see in the corner of my eye my mother laughing, of course. “Oh, I see you.” I said, while sticking my arm out an waving. Quickly he swooped up along side of the walkway before getting out to help with my bags.

“Did you get everything you needed?” He asked, while loading my multiple bags in the back of the car.

“I think so.” I said, while placing the last bag in the back.

“Well if not, we’ll get it.” He said, with a smile before he leaned down to kiss me gently. “I missed you.” He mumbled, before ushering me to get in the car.

“Well, Isabel was able to find a babysitter so they’ll be over soon,” my mother said as we got in the car, and Jim began to head back to the house. “And your father should be wrapping up so he can just meet us there, does that work for you Jim?”

“Perfectly, Helene.” He smirked before reaching across the center to place a hand on my knee. Once we arrived back Jim insisted I make a pot of tea for my mother and me while he took the bags to our room, yes he said ‘our room’. Then later tonight we would redo the closet to fit my new wardrobe.

“Well, Sweetie, there is nothing negative to say about Jim,” my mother said, while sipping her black tea. “Maybe the beard.”

“I like the beard.” I mumbled into my chai tea, a sly smile on my face as I remembered the way it felt between my legs.

“You two better be safe,” she scorned suddenly.

“Mom.” I hissed, while checking the entrance of the kitchen for any sign of Jim, there was no need for him getting a lecture as well.

“Sweetheart, as much as a little bundle of joy would be a blessing you still have so much time and room for your career,” she advised, and thankfully, right then, there was quick knock at the door that I all but sprinted over to get.

“Probably Isabel!” I shouted to my mom, who was grumbling nonsense into her tea. Swinging the door open I wasn't surprised when Isabel barged through her eyes taking in the foyer, just like our mother did.

“My god,” she gasped. “He’s rich!” She sang as she stuck her head into the living room. “Oh, this screams bachelor you'll have to change that.” she pointed out, before she gestured to the walls. “This grey and white monotone too.” Finally she managed to pull her focus in and wrap her arms around me for a hug.

“What the hell is wrong with you and mom?!” I hissed while pushing her away, though she was clearly enjoying herself as she made her way to the kitchen towards our mom. “Hey Steve.” I said, while turning to embracing him in a quick hug, his weren't as bulging as Isabel.

“Hey short stuff,” he joked, justle of my hair. “How's the car?”

“Robbers took my keys,” I explained, another task on my list. “Hopefully they just took it off my hands.” Steve laughed and went to join my mother and Isabel while I waited for Jim to come back down stairs. Within seconds he was bounding down the steps where he landed a few inches in front of me, a beautiful smile on his face.

“I saw your doodle, by the way,” he said, while leaning out to grab my both my hands. “I’ll probably frame it.”

“Oh god, please don't.” I laughed and let him pull me into his body, I could feel myself wanting to just curl into his chest. “They're horrible.”

“Well, those things that you consider doodles, I consider art.” Looking up at him, I resisted the urge once more to pinch his face, there was no way he was real.

“I love you.” I whispered.

“Love you too, now let's meet this crazy family of yours,” he suggested, and dragged me back to the kitchen where I’m sure my sister was just waiting with her questions.

After about twenty minutes of trivia we managed to get everyone into Jim’s car, my mother and Isabel in the middle while Steve was in the very back. Jim seemed completely at ease while he answered both my sister and mothers personal life questions and hidden agenda, along with Steve’s questions regarding Athlead. His attitude never once faltered, or got frustrated with the conversation. But I was extremely grateful when we pulled into the valet area,  I was also surprised to see how busy the restaurant was on a Wednesday, but I was confident that Jim made the reservations. I quickly noticed my father standing by the door, hands in his pockets as always.

“That’s my dad,” I whispered to Jim as he helped me out of the car and laced his fingers with mine. Not even that news swayed his confidence as he walked straight up to my father with me in tow.

“Mr Beesly.” Jim announced while extending his hand out. “Jim Halpert.” I bit the tip of my thumb nervously as my father took Jim’s hand and gave it a firm shake, while he eyed him up and down.

“Good handshake, Jim.” My dad finally replied, with a small smile on his lips.

Jim’s POV

Dinner was a walk in the park honestly, I called well in advanced to get a private room where I was able to hear everyone talk. Isabel was a stay at home mother with her son Jack but was very into sewing so she makes bibs and baby bonnets then sells them on Etsy; while Steve was a welder. Pam’s father, William told me a little bit about his private Law practice, he has about ten clients that keep him, as he said, ‘comfortable’ well into retirement. He talked briefly about this luxurious cruise Helene, Isabel, Steve, and he were leaving on next week. I was a bit ecstatic when I didn't hear Pam’s name on the guest list, figured she would have brought it up by now, also meant she was alone Christmas and New Years.

“What are your Christmas plans, Pam?” Helene asked, as she finished her fourth glass of wine. “Jim were leaving on just this beautiful cruise, Isabel, Steve, Will and I. We figured Pam couldn't get the time off because of work.” She laughed, like it was a joke that Pam had to work. “But you Pam, we won't be home, were leav-”

“Saturday,” Pam finished, her tone approaching  the edge of frustration, as she glared down at her empty glass. “I’ll be fi-”

“We’ll be in New York.” I said, after I sipped my red wine. Pam’s head snapped up at me with a look of surprise. “Remember baby, Christmas at the Halperts?” I’m sure if I called my mother she wouldn't mind at all if I brought Pam along, I was more concerned about my brothers scaring her off. “Then New Years in the city.” Why not.

“Oh yeah,” she hummed with a smile on her face.

“Wow, both sets of families in one month.” Isabel teased, as she and Steve shared the last of their desert together. “Pretty serious there.”

“I’d say so,” I replied, while pulling Pam closer to my side.

“Alrighty, Mr. Halpert,” the waiter said as he appeared with the bill. “Take your time.”

“Jim, let me see that.” William started, while reaching across for the tab but I shook my head.

“Nope, sorry.” I laughed, while pulling my wallet out and sticking the card in the slot. “You are letting me date your beautiful daughter, in the most nontraditional way, it’s the least I can do.” Once the bill was paid, and drinks were polished off, we began to make our way back to the valet. I was watching Pam and Steve laughing at how drunk Isabel and Helene were when William patted me on the back.

“Listen son,” he whispered low in my ear. “Fuck tradition,” he cursed. “It’s overrated. If you love her and she loves you and you make her happy, you keep doing that.” I glanced up at him to see the full seriousness in his face. “No need to ask my permission on anything.” The way he stressed the no permission part made my heart thud, were we talking about the same thing?

“Thank you, sir.” I replied stiffly, sticking my hand out for another shake.

“She is my little princess though, so you take damn good care of her,” he laughed, before patting me on the arm and going to collect his drunk wife.

“Not bad?” Pam asked, while we both watched Steve direct Isabel into the car.

“Not bad at all.” I smiled down at her, before opening the passenger door and helping her inside. Williams words still bouncing around in my head as I paid the valet and got into the car myself.

“So, New York?” She whispered, after a few minutes of silence.

“Yeah,” I smiled. “Figure the Halperts at Christmas would be a great opportunity to see what you're getting yourself into, and then New Years in the City.”

“Crazy Night in New York?” she laughed. “I love it.”

Chapter 16

Pam’s POV

It took more than the usual effort to drag myself out of bed today; Jim was like my own personal heater, between him and the soft velvety sheets I just couldn’t find the motivation to get moving. Today I also learned that Jim was a bit of a morning person, he got up around, who even knows, “to go use the gym”, which had to be located somewhere in this house. I believe I grunted back at him and rolled over for more sleep. Once he returned I still refused to get out of bed, even after his offer of taking a shower together. The third time he was gently enticing me with a hot cup of tea, which I slowly sat up for and sipped with my eyes close.

“Not a morning person?” He chuckled, placing a kiss on my forehead and walking back to the bathroom. Peeling one eye open, I enjoyed the view of a towel low on his hips while he glistened in the bathroom light.

“I’m sure I can learn,” I mumbled into my tea. Jim also had quite the morning routine, first he picked out his suit, grumbling in the closet about why things needed to be color coordinated. When I was finally up and in the shower, he was doing his hair, styling it with product and such, then once I was out of the shower he was getting dressed in his suit. “Why so fancy?” I asked while holding the towel to my chest with one hand as I brushed my teeth with the other.

“Meeting with ESPN today, contract renewal,” he said, while tightening his maroon tie over his silk white shirt.

“Exciting,” I said, after spitting out the mint suds.

“Want some tea for work?” He asked, as I made my way over to the closet.

“Yes please,” I answered and began the hunt for an outfit for today. Tomorrow we were leaving to Canada and with missing yesterday I’m sure we had plenty to finish up today. Since Jim was looking especially fancy today I choose to step up the game as well. I went with a pair of high waisted sash ankle pants, in maroon to match his tie, paired with Jim’s favorite white blouse and my new white pumps. Once dressed I grabbed my new purse, with literally nothing in it, and headed down stairs regretting not breaking in these heels prior, but now is better than never.

“You look gorgeous.” Jim smiled as he appeared from the kitchen.

“Why thank you.” I smiled, pulling on my coat and grabbing my tea from him before following him into the garage. “I should see about getting a new set of keys.” I said, while getting into the car.

“Or, just let me drive you,” he offered, while pulling out of the garage. The sky was filled with dark, rain threatening, clouds.

“You can’t do that forever.” I laughed, while my heart jumped around my chest at the thought of how adorably sweet he was.

“Don't challenge me, Beesly.”

“Seriously, Jim.” I smiled over to him, looking over his features. His hair was extra flowy today, he looked like he was growing it out, along with the beard, I noticed he trimmed up the sides today.  “You can't take care of everything forever.”

“I’m just helping you Beesly, where I see fit.” He explained, while reaching over to place his hand on my knee. “And driving you seems fit to me, we live together, and work together so no sense in driving separately,” he argued, while coming to a stop at a red light. I didn't say anything more, because Jim was capable of always making outstanding points. Arriving at work I could feel myself getting nervous, there was no denying that we were both gone yesterday and we were arriving together today. There was no denying it now, Jim and Pam were dating. I followed closely next to Jim as we walked up the steps and into the warm building.

“Morning guys.” Ryan said, as we walked across the the lobby to the elevator.

“Morning Ryan,” I replied, while Jim just ignored him as always.

“I should probably tell you,” Jim sighed as the elevator doors shut and we began to travel up to the third floor, “Karen is taking a two week leave, so Dwight is in charge of the Toronto accounts.”

“Oh, okay,” I answered, my eyebrows furrowed a bit. “Like a vacation?”

“No,” he said, the subject clearly making him uncomfortable. “We had a discussion yesterday… about us.” As he said that he looked pointedly down at me, his face pretty serious for eight in the morning Jim. “And she asked for a leave, which I gave her.”

“Oh.” I replied, and glanced down at my feet. “Think she’ll come back?”

“Not sure,” he answered, the subject immediately dropped when the elevator doors opened. Jim headed on to Darryls office, his work mode activated while I made my way to my desk, surprised to see some new items waiting for me. My planner, notebook, laptop and bag were all stolen in the robbery but now all new ones waited for me. Placing my purse down on my desk and taking a seat I began to open the new laptop and set it back up the way I had it with Jim’s calendar, his contacts and emails. I was so lost into reloading everything that when Jim appeared at my desk I almost jumped to the ceiling. “I would like to run through the presentation in about an hour, think you can have that ready? I also would like you to go over, make sure everything is finalized with Dwight.” I could tell just by the color of his neck he was beginning to get nervous about tomorrow, not to mention Karen’s leave and Andy’s three week vacation that also starts tomorrow. “Also could you get a reservation for four at La Croix today at noon?”

“Sure.” I said, and jotted down his notes quickly, also adding a reminder to check with our hotel in Canada to make sure our rooms were booked. At the same time crossing my legs as Jim leaned forward onto my desk, causing my shoe to rub against the outside of his leg.

“Oh,” he said, while his eyes quickly ran over my note. “How about you cancel the second room?” His voice was very low, I was confident only I could hear it, not Andy who was making copies maybe ten feet away.

“Okay,” I smiled, while scratching my note out. “Anything else, Mr. Halpert?” I asked, my tone low as I gently ran my foot up the side of his leg, watching his eyes go dark.

“Nope, Ms. Beesly,” he almost choked out, as he straightened up and shoved his hands into his pockets.  “I think you cured me of my nerves.”

“Happy to help, Sir.” I purred, before turning my attention back to my laptop as he retreated to his office, his hand on the back of his scorching neck. I buried my smile into my laptop as I began to redownload and edit the presentation one more time, while I called La Germain Hotel to cancel our second room, along with calling La Croix to reserve a table. Kind of surprised he’s going back when we had it just yesterday. Quickly my hour was up as Darryl  and I were heading into Jim’s office where Jim was setting up the projector and I quickly set my laptop on his desk, connecting the computer so the presentation was projecting against back wall. Jim began to pull down all the blinds to block the light from outside of the room, just leaving the one next to his desk open, and I gave Daryl copies of the pamphlet and the pricing booklet before taking a seat at Jim’s desk. While he presented and they went over points, I continued to jot down notes for what we needed to finish today; meet with Dwight, pack for tomorrow, not to mention this impromptu trip to New York as well, pick his suit out, verify the flight.

“Jesus Christ,” I suddenly heard Jim hiss. I looked up at his clearly annoyed face as his eyes were locked over Darryl’s head and through the open window of his office. Looking over my shoulder I immediately understood as I watched Ryan struggle to deliver another enormous bouquet of flowers to my desk, an arrangement of pink roses and white lilies. Oh my god, the man doesn't give up.

“You know what,” Darryl suddenly said, while getting to his feet. “I’ve gotta use the restroom, excuse me.” He was obviously lying as he quickly made his way out of the office, not before shutting the last blind then closing the door tightly behind him. Jim was facing away from me, his eyes on the projection, but of course his neck gave him away.

“You okay?” I finally asked, getting to my feet and walking around till I was perched at the edge of his desk.

“Yeah,” he said, before clearing his throat and looking back at me. “It’s really none of my business anyway.”

“None of your business?” I repeated, as my eyebrows knit together tightly. “You don't think it's your business when another man is trying to take your girlfriend?” I clarified, watching him turn around his hands on his hips as he thought deeply about my question.

“Okay,” he paused, then crossed his arms. “Okay, yeah you're right it’s my business.” Jim was ninety percent laid back, ten percent water, nothing really ever bothered this man, so I was very surprised to see how much this really did bother him. “So we should probably do something about this, maybe a duel of sorts?” He suggested with a small smile, while making his way over to me.

“I plan to tell him tomorrow since he wont answer my calls, but a duel sounds excellent.” I laughed, and reached out for him, grabbing the lapels of his suit and pulling him in between my legs.

“Cause, I’d fight for you Beesly,” he smiled, while placing his large hands on my hips, his thumb swirling around the thin fabric of my pants.

“Oh, I don't doubt it.” I laughed, before grabbing his tie and pulling his lips down to mine. They were soft but hungry, very demanding this morning. His fingers were digging into my hips as he pulled himself closer and swept his tongue through my mouth, the bitter taste of coffee still on his tongue.

“You taste like coffee,” I sighed, while working my fingers up into his thick hair pulling him even closer to me, my legs wrapping slightly behind his thighs.

“You like it,” he almost growled back as he bit my lower lip, causing me to gasp, his lips continued along my jaw while his left hand began to travel up my side, quickly dipping itself under my blouse till he was cupping the side of my breast, running the pad of his thumb over my nipple, which instantly hardened. “You're the one wearing this fucking top,” he grumbled against my neck making me rock my head back. Leaning back on my hands I rocked my hips forward till I grinded against the front of his slacks, grinning when I rocked against his erection. “Jesus, you're just trouble today,” he said against my collar bone before pulling away, lust just boiling in his eyes.

“You're not complaining.” I pointed out, my legs still holding him close.

“No,” he huffed and adjusted his tie before pointing down to his zipper. “But I kind of have a problem at the moment.”

“I’m sure I can take care of that,” I smirked, and got to my feet adjusting my skewed top and collecting my laptop and notes from behind me before heading towards the door and opening it to see Darryl waiting, an obvious smirk playing on his lips. “He’s ready for you.” I smiled at Darryl before taking a seat at my desk. The aroma of the flowers was almost overpowering, as I pushed the vase as close to the edge as possible, grabbing the little card off the top I read over the note Roy addressed to me.

Pammy,

Can't wait to see you, enjoy these flowers. Be ready tomorrow. I’ll pick you up from the airport.

“Oh god.” I grumbled before throwing the card in the trash and began to collect some items to go discuss with Dwight. I wasn't sure what was really worse at this point, dealing with Dwight or dealing with Karen. Dwight was a bit more of a handful, with his odd quirks and very judgy girlfriend. Not able to avoid it any longer I got up and headed to the elevator and down a level to the rest of the team. It was as painful as I thought, and apparently word traveled fast here, I could almost feel every pair of eyes on me as my heels clicked across the floor making my way to Dwight.

“Morning, Pam,” Clark smiled, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

“Morning, Clark,” I smiled back while taking a seat at Karen's desk next to Dwight, who didn't bother acknowledging me, he just continued to type on his computer. “Morning, Dwight.”

“Mm.” He hummed, as he continued to type furiously.

“Don't mind him,” Clark said. “He’s just trying to set a new record of not addressing the human race.”

“False.” Dwight snapped, his beady eyes glaring at Clark. “I am trying to not get distracted by incompetent idiots.” Dwight glanced my way quickly. “No offense, Pam.”

“None taken,” I mumbled, though I definitely took offense. “Jim wanted me to finalize Toronto’s file with you one more time, since Karen is gone.”

“Now, I heard you two got in a fight.” Clark commented, grabbing my attention, I could feel the blush reaching my ears.

“No way,” Kelly chirped from where she was standing at Angela’s desk. “Jim and Karen got into a huge argument over Pam.”

“Um, I don't think-” I began, my voice too low to diffuse this escalating fire.

“Oh yeah,” Oscar agreed, looking over to Kelly. “I heard he told Karen he never loved her.”

“That’s what I heard too.” Kelly and Angela agreed.

“Well I heard that Pam is pregnant.” Kevin giggled, while opening his M&M jar. It was safe to say that no one believed that crazy lie, but how invested they all were in Jim and my personal life was way too much for me.

“Well that’s what happens when you're the office mattress,” Angela sneered.

“Agreed.” Dwight announced, his eyes still glued to his computer.

“You know what.” I finally said, collecting my stuff. “I’ll just come back after lunch.” Quickly, I made my way back to the elevator, tears swimming in my eyes as soon as the doors closed. But there was no way I was going to let them get to me, I love my job and I love Jim. Pick your head up Beesly, it’s game time.

Jim’s POV

Today was a blessing and a curse. I woke up next to the most beautiful girl, whom I love. The other side of that is waking up next to Pam, who has managed to give me a hard on since I woke up. The moment she moaned my name in her sleep I’ve been way too turned on to function. Even the way she rubbed her eyes as she walked to take a shower, or stood outside of the shower waiting for water to heat up. But I couldn't help my damn self as I watched Pam make her way to the elevator, her hips swaying back and forth, the thin material of her maroon pants leaving little to my imagination, and she’s wearing my favorite damn top of hers. And we both know she doesn't have a bra on. My mind flicked back to the bag of lingerie she made me promise not to open, the one that's sitting in our closet as we speak. We could always leave early today, having to pack and such. Shit, I’ve gotta call my mother, book a hotel, I figure instead of landing back here we can just land in New York.

“You hear me man?” Darryl said, breaking me from my daydream.

“Yeah dude.” I lied, swiveling my chair to face him, giving him my full attention. “ESPN today, think they’ll renew?”

“Come on man let’s cut the bullshit,” he laughed, “We’ve got bigger things at hand, like little Miss. Beesly out there.”

“Like what?” I inquired.

“You're hooked man,” he stated. “You’re riding the Beesly train and don't plan on getting off.”

“What the hell are you talking about, dude?”

“You love her,” he summarized. “The way you look at her it's like a damn rainbow is shining out of her ass. We both know what is coming next; ring, wedding, baby Halperts.”

“Well that’s sudden.” I laughed awkwardly.

“Don't tell me you haven't been thinking about it.” I couldn't, I have been, it’s come up a couple times, the thought of putting a ring on her finger, giving her my last name. Giving her everything I could, I want her to have everything.

“I have.” I admitted. “Not now obviously.”

“Why not now?” He pressed.

“Because!” My nerves were beginning to return, the palms of my hands sweating. “Who’s going to approve of an engagement barely two months in.”

“Who cares!” He almost screamed. “Who the hell cares, you two were obviously put in this situation for a reason. Come on man, no one just graduates art school, gets a job at a marketing company and then somehow goes out and accidently parties with their new boss the night before her first day. It’s more than that, you two are the real deal, who cares two months in or five years in you know the outcome, it was clearly meant to be. You either wait for it to come to you or you jump on it yourself.”

“You’re right man, you're right.” I said while nodding my head slowly, I already knew what was going to happen today. We were going to La Croix for the meeting and after I was going to find myself in the jewelry shop that Pam went to with her mom, which was clearly for an engagement ring, and I was going to buy it. “Want to head to lunch early?” I asked, quickly getting to my feet, reaching for my keys and wallet on my desk.

“What for?” Darryl asked, as he got to his feet.

“You know.” Was all I said as we made our way out of my office and towards the elevator. Just as we arrived the doors opened to reveal Pam, who’s eyes softened as she approached, but before she could say anything I gently grabbed her face and placed my lips on hers. “I love you, and I’ll be back.” I said before taking her hand and spinning her away before I followed Darryl onto the elevator.

“Okay,” I heard her breathe as she tried to steady herself from falling in her heels.

“Damn,” Darryl chuckled as the elevator descended down. “You ready for this man?”

“Born ready.”

Returning to the office after about three hours, we had the ESPN contract in hand and an engagement ring burning a hole in my pocket.. Thankfully after describing Pam to the sales woman she was able to pull out the exact ring she and her mother were looking at. The lady went on and on about the make and how there were only a dozen or so made, but all I cared about was that Pam loved it. I thought it was beautiful and absolutely perfect for her but Pam needs to love it, she’ll be wearing it forever. Hopefully. And before returning to the office we stopped off at a hardware store to make copies of my keys for Pam, I wasn't able to resist getting a small gift box for them.

“Hey,” she breathed once she saw me approaching her desk, which was thankfully cleared of those flowers.

“Want to head home?” I asked, knowing very well my mind couldn't focus on anything but her at the moment.

“Did it not go well?” She asked, her face blanching while she got to her feet.

“Oh, no no,” I laughed, grabbing her coat off her chair and helping her in and grabbing her messenger bag. “We renewed. Just figure we have so much to do tonight, get packed, call my mother, get a hotel,” Still haven't decided if I wanted to make sweet love with her or just fully devour her. “We might as well get a head start on it.”

“Okay,” she smiled, grabbing her purse and leading the way to the elevator. I glanced into Darryls office who shot me two thumbs up as we loaded on. “So lunch went well?” She asked, once the doors closed.

“Very well,” I answered, and turned to give her my goofiest grin.

“Is that responsible for the incredibly good mood you're in?”

“Partly,” I lied, honestly ESPN had nothing to do with my incredible mood. “I was hoping to pick up where we left off this morning,” I explained to her as we got off the elevator, not even bothering to look in Ryan's direction.

“Ohh,” she chuckled. “Sorry, Mr. Halpert you’ll have to jog my memory.” I enjoyed the cold air against my hot skin as we walked towards my car, most of my will power was torn between getting down on one knee and asking her to marry me or throwing her over my shoulder.

“Gladly,” I answered while getting her door and helping her in. Once she was buckled in I leaned in till my lips were just below her ear, I could feel her shiver against my lips. “There should be some repercussions for this top of yours.”

“I thought it was your favorite?” She purred, turning her head to face me and bat her big lashes at me. Jesus.

“It is,” I comforted her. “But do you know what it does to me?” She began to lean towards me, stretching a bit out of her jacket, enough for me glance down her top, giving me clear view of her hardening nipples.

“I don't think I fully understand,” she smiled, her hand reaching up for my tie, but of course her knuckles brushed my bulge along the way. “Oops.”

“Hmm.” I grunted. “We’re ordering pizza, and I’ve got champagne in the fridge.” I declared before closing the door, and walking around the car, I’m sure my boner was apparent to the whole damn world. Getting in I quickly buckled and reversed simultaneously, desperately wanting to get home. Get her home. In my bed. Or the closest piece of furniture.

“Champagne?” She laughed. “You know we have a ton to do tonight, book a hotel, pack for two weeks, call your mother.”

“And all of that will be taken care of,” I said, while scowling at a red light to turn green. “Once were done celebrating.”

“What are we celebrating?” She asked, while placing her delicate hand on my thigh. Finally the light changed and my foot was down on the pedal, pulling us closer and closer to home.

“You’ll see missy,” I laughed, as we turned the corner of my neighborhood, where I lowered my speed so I didn’t scare any of the older folks. Not pulling into the garage, I simply parked in the driveway, watching the look of confusion quickly cover her face as I jumped out of the car and over to her door.

“The garage broken?” She asked, placing her hand in mine and following me around the car and towards the steps of the house.

“No, but, just in case it ever does break, you’ll have these.” I said, while pulling out the small flat white box from my coat pocket, the ring still burning a hole. She looked up at me with knitted brows while slowly grabbing the box from hand, taking the lid off there laid three keys on top of a piece of cotton. One for the garage, front door, and back door. “The keys to your home.”

“Jim,” she gasped, her throat sounding tight. I watched as she touched the keys gently with her finger tips, one small tear gently rolling down her cheek. “You didn’t have to do that,” she said, when she finally looked up at me with her beautiful teary eyes.

“I wanted to, Pam. I want you to feel truly at home here,” I said, shaking off the urge to propose right now. “Now let’s see if they work.” I grabbed her hand and basically hauled her up the three stone steps. Both of us had ridiculously big grins as we watched her insert one key to unlock the deadbolt of the handle set before pushing open the large door.

“It works,” she laughed, smiling back at me.

“Great.” I said, before leaning down to wrap my arms around her knees and throwing her over my shoulder, listening to the keys clatter on the floor.

“Jim!” She squealed, as I kicked the door shut with my foot and raced towards the stairs with her squirming on my shoulder.

“I told you, you’d be reprimanded!” I explained, with a light smack on her behind, listening to her laughs echo off the walls. Entering our room, which I’m sure at some point we’ll need an interior decorator to come in and help us out with a less Bachelor Pad look, I gently dropped her on the bed before heading to the closet to discard my coat but really to quickly hide the ring in my one of my less worn shoes. Walking back, I was almost done with my shirt when I glanced up and noticed that Pam, on the other hand, was just naked, sitting on the edge of the bed. “My god.” I smirked, finally pulling my shirt off and just gazing at her beautiful body.

“What?” She blushed, as I made my way over, my belt coming undone quickly, followed by my zipper.

“Nothing,” I whispered, placing my fingers under her chin and tilting her head up to mine. “I just really love you Pam Beesly.”

Chapter 17

Pam’s POV

I’m exhausted. After some intense, sweaty, repeated celebration; then pizza, champagne, packing, booking hotels, and rental cars at the last minute... Jim and I didn't find sleep until at least three o’clock in the morning. Of course our flight leaves around nine am and we need to be there around eight, so now we're up at six. Jim is currently working up a sweat in the gym while I’m downstairs making coffee and toast for us. The shower wasn't enough to wake me up, and at this point I don't think tea would either, my robe is just too comfy to ditch just yet.

“Smells good,” Jim announced as he arrived in the kitchen. I smiled over my shoulder, watching him as he opened the fridge for a bottled water, sweating head to toe.

“Well, I am an excellent toast maker.” I joked while placing a plate of toast, with avocado, and his mug of coffee on the island. Grabbing my mug and toast I took a seat at the island and watched him devour his breakfast.

“You are pretty excellent at a few other things, Miss Beesly,” he teased while wagging his eyebrows at me. “I’m shocked to see I could walk this morning.”

“I surely can't.” I admitted, while biting my crunchy toast and taking a sip of my bitter coffee.

“Good,” he smirked, around a mouth full of toast. “I’ve done my job.” Placing a kiss on top of my damp hair he made his way back up the stairs to shower. Today should be a fairly busy day starting with lunch with Stuart Sternberg and Charlie Montoyo, the owner and manager of the Tampa Bay Rays. Jim has actually met with these men once before for one of his very first pitches that was unfortunately turned down so he is a bit nervous about it this time. But I’m more worried about dinner with Bobby and Roy. Roy is planning on meeting me at the airport and I am going to have to explain to him that he and I are never going to happen, we’ll see how that pans out. Tomorrow is also the big presentation, celebration dinner after with everyone if it goes well (and if not then dinner with just Jim and me), then we’ll fly to New York the following morning. Jim’s mother was very very excited that we were coming for Christmas. It was a solid twenty minutes of her begging to convince Jim for us to stay with them until Wednesday, then we will go stay in the city for New Years and then take the train back to Philly.

After cleaning up breakfast I made my way back up the stairs to get dressed and fix my ever curling hair. It took me a little bit to choose my outfit for today, not to mention picking out Jim’s clothes as well, it was like pulling teeth. Today I went with a pair of black ankle slacks, a light blue collared shirt under a white knitted sweater, and black flats. My hair was too frizzy to deal with, with the amount of time I had left so ballerina bun it was. By the time Jim got out of his steaming hot shower I was placing his clothes on the bed. I didn't mind picking out his clothes, and he seemed to enjoy it. I chose a pair of dark jeans, almost black, with a white Henley shirt, and his brown wool coat.

“Well look at you,” he smiled, while walking over to me with a towel wrapped around his hips.

“Look at you,” I teased, quickly leaning up to peck him on the lips, but the way he wrapped his arms around my waist assured me that he had other ideas. “No,” I warned while trying to edge away.

“Yes.” He laughed as he tried to find my lips.

“No, the Uber will be here in fifteen minutes.” His lips continued along my jaw, but I held my ground. I’m assistant Pam right now, not girlfriend Pam.

“Well, I’m already naked, that saves us two minutes.” He pointed out, and kissed me briefly till I pushed him away once more. Obviously he was stronger than me, but he reluctantly let me push him away, a noticeable pout on his face.

“Down boy.” I commanded while picking his black briefs off the bed and shoving them towards him. “I’ll be down stairs.” I began to leave the room, not looking back knowing very well he was standing there completely naked.

“Well I have a boner now,” he grumbled, loud enough for me to hear.

“Good for you!” I yelled, as I began to descend the stairs. All of our bags were waiting at the door, not sure why Jim had three large suitcases and two duffle bags, but he sure was was prepared. I shrugged my coat on and grabbed my purse, which was now filled with an empty wallet, but I also had my new set of keys, which was really great. Just as I heard honking from the driveway Jim began to hop down the stairs, looking good as ever, it was almost unfair.

“I’ll get the bags,” he said, while slinging the two duffle bags onto his arms, and grabbing the handle of two of the suitcases.

“I think I can manage one.” I laughed, while following him with the last suitcases, I turned to quickly lock the door with my new keys before following him over to the driveway where the sleek SUV was waiting. Jim of course tossed the bags in, ushering me to go sit in the back. The car was nice and warm.  I was actually excited for the jet, I loved the seats and how comfortable it was for a metal tube in the sky.

“Jeez Beesly,” he huffed as he got in. “How many clothes did you bring?”

“The same amount of shoes that you brought.” I countered, laughing, as he pretended to look offended. Of course calls and emails began to pour in to Jim’s phone once we began the quick drive to the airport. I tuned most of it out, working on my own emails till I heard Karen’s name come up and I couldn't help but listen.

“Toby, just do the two weeks of full pay, we’ll bite the bullet this time.” Jim said, while covering the receiver to whisper to me. “Where’s lunch?”

“Canoe, at twelve thirty.” I watch his nose crinkle up, not at the restaurant but the time. “I have snacks in my bag.”

“God, I love you.” He sighed, before turning back to his conversation with Toby. Arriving to the airport, I couldn’t help but think about how surreal it is that we were able to just drive right onto the tarmac and load onto the jet. Jim took a seat pulling out his laptop while I settled into my seat trying to not eavesdrop but still couldn't help myself. “It’s just a personal leave, what else do we have to add to it?” Jim’s voice was entering the rare territory of ‘highly annoyed’. “She was upset over the news of my new romantic relationship with Pam.” Hmm, that may explain some rumors that were thrown my way yesterday. I began to pull out a book to read, the best way for the time to pass.

“Seriously, we gotta go through that shit now?” Jim laughed, while shaking his head. “Alright Toby, just take care of Karen’s leave and we’ll take care of the rest when I get back.” I watched as his eyes rolled up to look up at the ceiling of the jet, his knuckles turning white as he gripped his phone. “Oh Toby- sounds like- I’m losing you buddy,” he smirked while making his voice all choppy like he was losing connection. “Going through a tunnel- bye.” He quickly hung up and tossed his phone in the seat next to him. “I really hate that guy.” The light above us began to flash the buckle sign.

“I didn't know you a Karen got into an argument.” I said softly, as I strapped my seat belt in.

“It wasn't a big deal really,” he sighed, and buckled himself in. “She just felt like it wasn't fair that I am so willing with you, when for her I couldn't.” All I did was nod, and adjusted my eyes back to my book. “Spill it, Beesly,” he said, gently kicking my leg. “What’s going on in that little head of yours?”

“Just some stuff that people said at work.” I watched his eyebrows knit together and couldn't help but feel like I was tattle taling. “It’s not a big deal.”

“What were they saying?” He pressed. I was so engrossed in our conversation I almost didn't notice that we were taking off. Almost.

“Seriously, Jim, just some office rumors, not a big deal.” I said, but I could tell with the look he was giving me there was no way around it. “Just some people were saying Karen and I got in a brawl, or you two were fighting about me, and according to Angela I’m the office mattress.”

“Well, anyone showing a little bit of skin, and not wearing funeral clothes, is a whore in Angela’s mind so I wouldn't look too much into that.” Jim managed without laughing.

“Seriously, babe,” I sighed. “I have to work with these people and I’m already the office whore. I don't think we handled it well.”

“No, no you’re right,” he agreed and reached across to hold my hand. “I’ll fix it when we get back, I swear.” I could feel my shoulders relax as I sat back and began to read my book while he returned back to his work.

Of course, I couldn't truly relax, the flight was under two hours and after those two hours I knew I had to go down and face Roy, in front of Jim, and I have no clue how the hell that was going to go. Jim was chugging away on his work, double and triple checking everything, while I was still on the same page of my book and I knew we were close to landing. Finally, with a huff, I shoved the book in my bag and crossed my arms in annoyance.

“Nervous?” Jim asked, as he began to pack up his messenger bag.

“A bit.” I admitted, “Think you could wait in the car?”

“Hmm,” he hummed, I could tell this was his way of lightening the mood, but an obvious no was written on his face. “What if he tries something?” The over head seatbelt sign began to flash again, my nerves were rolling deep down in my stomach.

“I doubt he will,” I lied, I wasn't sure what his reaction would be to me turning him down, he was clearly a man that knew what he wanted and was used to getting it.

“I’ll be by the car,” he offered. “How about that?” I didn't try to press any further, since he did have a right to be there but I want going to let Roy know that Jim and I were together. It was none of his business and this is a professional dinner tonight, we’re both adults, I’m sure we can both act like adults.

The landing was smooth even though my heart pounded nervously in my chest. I wasn't at all surprised when I saw Roy’s car parked on the tarmac with him leaning against it. Jim grabbed my carry on without a word and made his way to our black SUV. Roy looked good, there was no denying that. His beard appeared to be bigger, he wore jeans with a grey henley shirt, the sleeves pushed up over his massive biceps, of course he had his dark sunglasses on.  

“Pammy!” Roy shouted as I approached him, his cologne invading my nose.

“Hey-” I managed before he swept me off my feet and spun me around, his arms nearly crushing my ribs.

“God!” he sighed as he put me down, his face too close to mine. “You’re even more beautiful than when you left.”

“Thanks.” I said, with a forced smile. “Look Roy.” I began again, but before I could continue on I noticed his lips began to travel down to mine. Oh no. Quickly I turned my head and felt his lips and scratchy beard land on my cheek. It was easy to see the annoyance on Jim’s face as he stood outside of the car, his arms crossed tightly in front of his chest.  “Roy,” I said again, and gently pushed him back to look at me. “Thank you for everything you’ve sent, the flowers, the chocolates, very very sweet.” Before he could interrupt me again I quickly began to speak again. “But I can't date you.” Instantly his arms began to loosen letting me put some distance between us.

“Is this about the distance bull shit again?” He asked, his voice a little rougher than I was expecting.

“No,” It has to do with the man that I love less than twenty feet away who is watching this encounter. “Yes. No, just Roy, I can't date you.” I paused for a moment watching as he processed the words, his arms dropping to his sides, his gaze suddenly casting above my head towards the SUV that Jim was at. “I’m really sorry, I wanted to call you and talk to you but you we-”

“It’s fine, Pammy,” he said, curtly. Silence rung for a long second as I tried to read the expression in his eyes but they were covered by those damn sunglasses.

“I’m sorry, Roy.” I repeated, as he shook his head. “I don't want this professional relationship ruined either.”

“Don't worry about it,” though his tone of voice made me suggest otherwise. “No harm done. I’ll see you at the dinner tonight?” He asked, as he opened the driver side door and slammed it shut before I could even respond.

“Yeah.” I sighed, as he revved the car to life and sped off the tarmac. Jesus Christ. You go from no men, to too many men. I began to walk back towards Jim, with my coat hugged around me.

“Well?” He asked, while holding the door open and following me in.

“He said he’ll see us at dinner, so I guess that’s good.” I mumbled while buckling myself in. Our driver began to drive us off the tarmac and towards town where we were meeting for lunch.

“How was the kiss?” Jim asked, smirking at me instantly lightening my mood.

“Shut up.”

Lunch was pretty damn good. Jim and Stuart hit it off amazingly well, but that’s no surprise with Jim. Charlie and Jim were a bit uncomfortable due to the fact that Charlie turned Jim down years ago, but once he heard about our profits and turn around he seemed very interested.  I remained quiet most of the lunch, just sipped my wine and ate my salad. Jim was great at the talking and persuading kind of things, and it wasn't a casual lunch either, his arm wasn't draped along the back of my chair, no fingers drawing circles in between my shoulder blades, or how they would move to my leg, innocently placed on my knee, as his thumb swept along the inside of my thigh, none of that. We agreed to stay strictly professional for these away meetings, and maybe we need to work on that in the office too. But what fun is that?

“Well Jim,” Stuart announced, dragging me from my daydream as he and the rest of the table got to their feet. “We’re looking forward to your presentation tomorrow.” I quickly got to my feet, watching as they shook hands, both the men sent me a polite nod before they turned to leave.

“What were you daydreaming about over there?” Jim chuckled, as he gathered his card and began to escort me out of the restaurant as well.

“You're hands.” I answered, watching his head snap down in my direction a smirk along his lips.

“My hands?” He asked, while waving down our driver from the airport, who was patiently parked in lot.

“Well,” I laughed. “Your hand. You know,” I teased, pulling my coat tighter around my body. “On me.” Jim didn't say anything as he opened the car door, and quickly followed me in.

“Where too, Sir?” The driver asked, as we buckled in.

“Hotel.” Jim answered while placing his hand on my knee, his thumb tracing the inseam of my pants.

Jim’s POV

“You’ll be the death of me, Pam Beesly.” I sighed, while laying on my back, my chest rising and falling quickly as I tried to catch my breath.

“Don't be a baby,” she laughed, as she made her way to the bathroom to take a shower I presume.

“I’m just stating a fact.” I laughed, finally getting to my feet, pulling on my boxer briefs, and walking to the bathroom. I was only able to catch a quick glance of her rear bum as she climbed into the shower. With a stupid grin on my face I made my way over to my luggage to pull out my shoes for tonight's dinner. Pam had all my suits dropped off to be steamed, after they had been folded in the my suitcase, and now they were hanging in my closet, crisp as paper. I was looking forward to meeting with Bobby of course, but the thought of Roy sitting across from Pam made my back tense. I pushed the thought aside as I pulled out my suit, followed by a pair of shoes, glancing over my shoulder quickly, I pulled out Pam’s ring from the shoes. Why did I bring it? I was afraid I’d forget where the hell I put it at home. And it felt safe with me. I have no idea how I was going to pop the biggest question of my life, but maybe the moment would just appear, so it seemed convenient to have it with me. Placing the ring safely into another shoe, I zipped my luggage shut and began to change. Pam chose a more business casual location for dinner, so her outfit of choice for me was black jeans, blue button up with a black blazer. By the time I was done Pam was walking out of the steamy bathroom, a towel wrapped around her small frame along with one on her head. She was a sight to see, but she always was. Tired, hangry, sad, happy, she was the most beautiful women I have ever laid eyes on.

“You okay?” She asked, staring at me in concern.

“Perfect,” I smiled at her.

“You’re worried about Roy?” She asked while making her way to her suitcase, pulling out her outfit.

“I’m more worried about my behavior.” I admitted, while taking a seat on the edge of the bed. “He looks at you and I want to punch him.”

“Well,” she smirked, as she retreated back to the bathroom. “You’ll just have to not punch him,” she explained, like I was about to do something very simple.

“Easier said than done,” I grumbled as she shut the door to change. It was cute that she was still shy to change, though I have seen her naked multiple times now. I waited patiently on the bed while checking ridiculous updates from Andy on his vacation.

“Jesus.” I mumbled, while deleting the messages. I raised my head once I heard the door open again, Pam walked out combing through her wet hair. “Jesus,” I whispered again as I took her in. She was wearing white jeans, which were my favorite on her. Tucked into her jeans she wore a silk laced black top, I could only imagine the lack of clothing that she had on underneath. Then she topped it all off with a grey knitted sweater on top. “Hmm, that may be my new favorite top.” I said, as I got to my feet and made my way over to her.

“Oh yeah?” She laughed as she pulled her hair up into a bun on top of her head, craning her neck up to see me. “Car should be here in like five minutes.”

“Well, chop chop.” I commanded, reaching around to tap her butt lightly. I watched as she rolled her eyes and began to pull on her black pumps, she looked too good not to gawk at.

Making our way down to the lobby, the sun had set as we walked out to our waiting car. I could tell she was nervous as well, the tip of her thumb between her teeth as we drew closer to the restaurant. Not saying anything I reached over and grabbed her hand, lacing my fingers through hers and pulling it to my lap. There was nothing to be worried about, we were grown adults. Roy is an adult he can handle a bit of rejection. Pulling into the restaurant I helped Pam out of the car, listening to her curse her black heels before we ascended the stairs of the Scaramouche Pasta Bar, a very upscale italian restaurant. Who doesn't love pasta?  It was dark, intimate, as the hostess escorted us to our table where Bobby and Roy waited. Pam instantly dropped my hand keeping to our Boss and Employee facade.

“Gentleman.” I began as they rose to their feet. I quickly shook their hands, trying to keep from squeezing Roy’s too hard, his eyes were already glued to Pam, devouring her like a piece of meat. From the short distance I could already smell the alcohol coming off of him.

“How was the flight?” Bobby asked, once we were all seated. There was an obvious tension in the air, Pam’s body slightly turned towards me, while Roy was staring dead on at Pam, not saying a word.

“Quick,” I said, “Had lunch with Stuart and Charlie, seems like tomorrow will be a good presentation.” The conversation paused as he placed our order for drinks and starting meals. I went with a beer and a sparkling rosè for Pam and we ordered the bread and hummus to share. Bobby followed suit with the beer while Roy ordered a whiskey. I’m guessing it wasn't the first of the night either.

“Is this with Pam’s designs as well?” Bobby asked.

“Yes it is.” I replied proud, glancing over to smile down at Pam. “Pam did all of the designs for them.”

“Pam, I gotta say,” Bobby began smiling over at Pam. “Those jersey designs are the best this team has had in ages.”

“Oh, thank you-“

“Because Pam’s an artist.” Roy interrupted, cutting Pam off as he swirled around his pepper shaker. I opened my mouth to change the subject, back to the topic at hand but Roy’s giant mouth opened once more. “Is that what it was Pammy? I’m not sensitive like an artist?”

“Whoa,” both Bobby and I said quickly, trying to defuse the fire from building anymore. “Come on Roy,” Bobby continued. “This is a business dinner.” My eyes were stuck on Roy watching him wave off Bobby’s words mumbling that he understood under his breath. Pam was blushing next to me, embarrassment written all over her face, as she played with the napkin on her lap. “Are they having you do the whole season of uniforms?” Bobby asked, pulling the subject back to light.

“Hopefully.” I said, my voice tight as I spoke. “We’re starting with a pitch of their home game jerseys, but we also brought along-” Once again the sentence was cut short as Roy banged his empty whiskey glass against the table, grabbing both ours and the table adjacent to ours attentions.

“But seriously Pammy what is it?” Roy demanded, his voice loud and raspy. “The things I get you not good enough?” He added before reaching across to place his giant hand onto one of hers. “You didn't even let me show you what Canada’s got to offer.” The innuendo was clear and I had had enough at this point as I watched his grip tighten when Pam tried to pull away. Anger and obvious protection of Pam began to pulse through me, my knuckles were white as I clamped my hands into fists on the table.

“Roy.” I hissed through my teeth. I watched as the drunken imbecile dragged his bloodshot eyes my direction. “I will not tell you a second time,” I said low, in hopes of not disturbing other tables around us. “Keep your fucking hands off of her.” The air had stilled for a moment, Roy’s eyes flickering back and forth between Pam and me, before a deep snort released from his throat and he stood up abruptly, his chair knocking down behind him.

“I’ll be at the bar,” he mumbled, before he turned and made his way towards the bar in the back of the restaurant. A few more seconds continued, as my anger began to drift away, Pam’s panic still obvious, her skin flushed red, her eyes rimmed red.

“Why don't you go to the restroom,” I suggested softly in her ear. Only able to nod she placed her napkin on the table and pushed away from the table making her way towards the back, her head low. I bit back the urge to follow her and hold her, the way I would if we weren't working.

“Jesus, Jim I’m-” I waved Bobby’s apology short.

“It’s fine,” my voice was curt and short. “I'm sure alcohol played a bit.” The conversation drew closed as the waiter dropped the appetizers off. I noticed my appetite had died away, my anger floating along the back of my mind. Bobby continued to eat his salad, asking random questions every now and then, when suddenly I noticed that Pam had been gone longer than I thought. Glancing up I quickly scanned the room for her beautiful face, only to come empty handed. Another face was missing. Roys.

My heart plummeted into my stomach as I got to my feet. Everything seemed to slow, the way my napkin fell to the floor, the way I circled the table and began to stride towards the back, Bobby’s voice was a meer whisper as I rushed past tables and waiters.  I should have gone with her, continued to pulse through my mind as I rushed down the narrow, dark, hallway until I rounded the corner where the women's restroom was.

“Stop!” The sound of Pam’s voice pumped the adrenaline through me as without a second thought I used my shoulder to ram myself against the door. There was a loud snap before the door flew open, revealing to me the horror behind the door.

“I told you to keep your fucking hands off of her.”

Chapter 18

Pam’s POV

“Why don't you go to the restroom,” Jim whispered into my ear as tears threatened to escape down my cheek. All I could do was nod as I placed my napkin on the table and got to my feet, feeling my legs shaking beneath me. I walked quickly towards the back and down a long narrow hallway before rounding the corner to the women's single restroom. Walking in, I closed and locked the door behind me before I slouched over the sink, leaning against the granite counter top for support as I fought back the tears. <em>Come on Pam, you gotta be stronger than this, you're a big girl, don't let that freak win this.</em> Too much of this encounter reminded her of the men from her apartment, taking what they wanted, touching what they wanted. Since when do men just go around and start touching women?!

“Bull shit.” I muttered, while turning to wash my hands, glancing over my makeup making sure it wasn't ruined. Suddenly there was a quick knock at the door, making my heart thump against my chest. Calm down, Beesly, just another women needing the restroom. “Sorry, one second!” I called back as I shut off the sink and began to dry my hands with one of the rolled up white cloths, before discarding it in the wicker basket. Taking a deep breath I plastered a fake smile on my face and unlocked the door opening it wide. “Sorry-” the apology got stuck in my throat as I looked up at Roy leaning against the small door frame, his whole body taking it completely over when he crossed his arms over chest. “Move Roy.” I demanded, though the words were small as they left my mouth.

“You don't want that,” he chuckled, as he straightened up making it a point to tower over me.

“Yes I do.” I said, taking a small step back into the restroom, I was convinced I could hear my own pulse. “I want to go sit back down.”

“With your boss, right?” He pressed, his smirk turning wicked. “I may be a lot of things Pammy, but no man looks at a woman like that unless they're fucking.”  

“It’s none of your business,” I hissed at him.

“Oh baby,” he chuckled, taking a step towards me causing me to step back until I bumped into the counter behind me. I watched, frozen, as he began to close the door behind him, the click of the lock echoed around us. I was trapped. “But it is, you didn't even give me chance.” He slurred, taking another step towards me till his front was brushing mine. The smell and heat coming off of him was making my stomach roll. “Let me show you.” I watched his hand reached out to my bare shoulder from where my sweater was hanging off; quickly I swatted his hand away.

“Don't touch me, Roy.” I spat, surprised by my own venom in my voice.

“Oh, Pammy,” he laughed, the sound coming deep from his chest. “You don't have a choice.” More aggressively this time Roy’s hand shot out to grip my upper arm, I could feel where the bruises were going to form as his fingers dug into my skin. Like a rag doll Roy shoved me till I was pressed against the wall adjacent to the sink, and with all my effort I shoved him, but the end result was obvious. I was not going to win. His hands were everywhere, on my hips, my stomach, one ripped my sweater off my shoulders while the other grabbed my wrist. With a struggle I managed a quick swipe of my hand and felt my fingernails connect with with the skin of his cheek. “Fucking bitch!” He hissed as he stepped away grabbing his cheek. It wasn’t much but there were three noticeable scratches along his cheek, slowly they began to drip red. I tried to take advantage of the distraction, hauling myself off the wall and towards the door, but Roy was quicker.

Grabbing my arm once more he flung me back against the wall, a loud crack filled the room as my head smacked back against the granite wall. White stars filled my vision as I sagged agaisnt the wall, Roy continuing to paw at my clothes and body. My body felt paralyzed and all I could do was watch as he tore my sweater off my shoulders before grabbing the straps of my black top, they easily tore apart revealing my white lingerie. It was new, I wore it to surprise Jim after dinner; I bought it while I was out with my mom, it was white his favorite color. <em>Stop!</em> I screamed in my head as I watched Roy’s hand pull the thin material of the bralette down, the lace tearing apart from the seam and releasing my breast into the palm of his hand. I could feel bile rise in my throat as he lowered his head down till his lips were around my nipple, where he bit hard. That was similar to having a defibrillator against my chest, it jumped started me.

“Stop!” I found myself screaming, as my arms began to push at him again. A growl vibrated deep in his troat as he collected both my wrists into his hand and shoved me harder into the wall. His obvious erection began to dig into my hip, his legs, hips and large body keeping me stuck against the wall. Stop, stop, stop.

“You feel that baby.” He sneered, as he grinded into me. With a vice like grip around my wrist he pulled my hand down to his jeans, forcing the palm of my hand to rub against his erection. It was hot against my hand, even through his jeans. “Mhm,” he moaned, and he thrusted my hand up and down his erection. “Let’s just see how wet you are?” Tears sprung into my eyes as I clamped them shut, fully realizing my horrible disgusting fate. Roy was going to rape me. Just as he popped the button of my jeans and tore the zipper down, there was loud crack and crash behind Roy as the door suddenly flung open. Roys hand clamped down over my mouth as he pressed me harder into the wall while he looked back over his shoulder.

“I told you to keep your fucking hands off of her!” A familiar voice growled. Jim! I squirmed against his grip, trying to see Jim behind Roys massive form.

“This doesn't concern you, Halpert.” Roy grunted back, as he returned his gaze back down to me, he truly looked like a monster, the way he stared down at me. “But you are more than welcome to watch.”

The actions to follow were quick, Roy’s shoulder was yanked back, releasing his grip on me, as Jim’s fist went flying towards his face. Roy was big, but drunk, so Jim had the upper hand. The one blow to Roy caused him to fall back, I swear I felt the earth shake when he collided with the ground. Jim didn't stop there. Glued to my spot against the wall I watched as Jim’s fist collided, again and again, with Roy’s face. To the point where I couldn’t tell where Roy’s blood began, and Jim’s blood ended.

“Jim!” Bobby shouted, as he, and two security guards, entered the small bathroom, all three of them leaping towards Jim in an attempt to pull him off. But Jim kept going, his heavy breathing and grunting filled the air as his fist continued to connect with Roy’s face. Fifteen… sixteen… seventeen. Seventeen punches until they were able to wrap their arms around his tall figure and basically haul him off of Roy. Police were here now and I felt like I couldn't breath as more people filed into the bathroom. But I stayed frozen against the wall looking at Roy’s bloody face, watching him cough blood up, and Jim was shoved into the hallway by three men.

“Ma’am?” A soft voice broke through my fuzzy attention. Ripping my eyes off of Roy, who was getting medical attention on the floor, I gazed to the female officer in front of me who was reaching out towards me with a grey blanket. I glanced down to my exposed chest, finger scratches were along my pale skin, followed by the bruise that was beginning to form around my nipple, along with blood that was dripping down my neck. “Why don't we go outside, I’ll have EMT check you out?” She asked gently, while she wrapped the blanket around my shoulders, I grabbed the end of the fabric holding it like a vice to my chest. I ended up barefoot through the process, but I followed as the officer began to guide me out of the crowded bathroom into the equally crowded hallway.

“Where are you taking her?” Jim voice, cut through the thick air. I glanced up to see him with with two officers, Bobby next to him looking as pale as me.

“We’re going to have medic check her out.” The female officer said, her voice strict.

“Well, I’m going with her.” Jim said, matter of factly trying to step towards me but the male officer he was with placed a hand on his chest keeping him getting up.

“We still have questions.”

“I’ve answered your questions.” Jim snapped. “That’s my girlfriend and I will be with her.” I watched as Bobby tried to place a calming hand on Jim’s arm.

“There is nothing you can do right now,” my female office snapped. “She needs a medic.” Not waiting for a response she began to guide me back through the hallway past more officers and into the restaurant. It was cleared out of customers, flashing red and blue from the patrol cars outside, it was so bright I had to squint my eyes. My female officer continued to guide me till we were out of the building, it was cold but I didn't shiver. She helped me along to what looked like an EMT truck where a male medic was waiting. Both of them gently eased me onto the back of the truck till my feet were dangling off the edge, I continued to hold the blanket tight around my body, my knuckles were white from my grip.

“Ma’am,” the male medic said. I looked up at him, he looked young, with a kind face. “I’m going to take the blanket and examine you okay?” I stared blankly at him, feeling my grip tighten.

“Pam?” The female officer said gently, pulling my eyes from the medic, I looked down at her. “You have nothing to be scared of, we just have to make sure you don't need to go to the hospital.” I didn't respond, just continued to stare down at her. “I’ll stay right here,” she promised. Shifting my gaze forward I loosened the grip on the blanket, feeling the blanket fall from my shoulders, and my arms dropped to my sides. His fingers were light as he worked across my chest, I felt only the light sting of cleaning solution as he gently dabbed something soft against my chest.

“You’ll want to do a DNA sample,” the male medic said. “She has skin under her nails, probably from him.” The female office began to talk into the radio that was attached to her shoulder, with in seconds another male officer appeared with a small black case in his hands.

“Pam,” she said, softly. “This is Officer Bundy, he’s going to take some samples from your fingers okay?” I didn't respond once again, my gaze fixed ahead as police officers began to leave the building. Roy was leaving, two officers on his sides dragging him along to a squad car who roughly shoved him in. Jim and Bobby were the next to leave, Bobby appeared to be talking, but Jim’s eyes were scanning the crowd searching for something. I could feel officer Bundy gently working on my hand, something cold and metal was scraping under my nails. Jim’s eyes finally found mine, he looked how I felt. Hollow, maybe numb was the word? How could it be twenty degrees and I wasn't shivering.

“Was there penetration?” I heard the medic asked.

“No, that’s when the boyfriend intercepted.” I watched as Jim pushed his way through a crowd of officers till he stopped by three of them just a few feet in front of the truck.  

“She’s my girlfriend.” Jim explained, exasperated. I could see his right hand was bandaged up. “Please.”

“Hey, Jones.” the officer that was holding Jim shouted back to my female officer. “Is he good?”

“He can stay,” she said, as she looked up at me before stepping towards Jim who shoved his way past the large officer. “I will only say this once Mr. Halpert.” She hissed under her breath. “She is being examined, you may stay here, but by no means can you disturb the examination.”

“Fine.” Jim snapped, pushing past her till he was in front of me. He was maybe five inches away from knees, if I leaned forward I could touch him. But I didn't want to. Why didn't I want to touch him?

“That should be enough.” Officer Bundy explained to my female officer named Jones. “I’ll take some off him, and we’ll take it to the lab.”

“Thanks.” She mumbled, before taking her position back next to me.

“We just need pictures,” the EMT muttered. Pictures? Of what? Me?

“Hey Pam,” Officer Jones said as she placed her hand on top of mine. I looked down at the touch of her hand, I almost couldn't feel it, I could feel the weight but not the touch. “ Were going to lay you on this cot in here okay, we just have to take a few pictures.” Why not. I’m sure the whole Toronto PD has seen my chest at this point. With the help of the EMT and Officer Jones I was directed back onto a white cot where I laid flat and stiff. Almost like I was dead. Maybe I was dead. I couldn't feel anything, you're suppose to feel things when your alive. My eyes never left the white iron ceiling of the ambulance as flash after flash continued around me. Occasionally I was turned, or told to raise my arms, open my mouth.

Gently I was brought up into a seated position, where I could see Jim waiting at the opening of the ambulance, his eyes looked horrified. Like he’d seen a ghost. Maybe I really am dead. Officer Jones blocked my view of Jim as she sat down in front of me, she was holding a black sweatshirt. “I’m going to put this on you okay?” She asked, before she carefully placed the material over my head, it was like dressing a toddler, her hands were gentle as she guided my hands through the sleeves till I was covered in the fleece material. But I didn't feel different, didn't feel warm, just felt like I was there.

“Can I take her now?” Jim asked, his voice cracking along the way.

“Yes, but we’ll need a word.” Office Jones explained, as she made her way towards the end of the ambulance, jumping down she stood before Jim, who towered over her. “It’s complicated being that you two are from the US.”

“We want nothing to do with this.” He said, tearing his eyes from mine and looking down at the officer. “I don't care what you do with him but we want no part of it, were leaving tonight,” he explained.

“I understand, we’ll throw the book at him, with everything we got, though Pam’s testimony wou-”

“I don't want her anywhere near that monster.” Jim’s voice was strong enough to cut through glass. “Throw whatever the fuck you want at him.”

“Okay,” she whispered, before grabbing the stack of papers that waited on the edge of the truck, and extending them to Jim. “These are her release papers. Things we strongly suggest you do.”

“Like what?” Jim asked, while flipping through the packet of papers.

“Therapy, Mr. Halpert,” she said. “Pam has been sexually assaulted, and this is only the beginning of a long line of recovery. She’s in shock, she won’t want to sleep, eat, she’ll need therapy, medicine, routine check ups, not to mention the concussion she received, she’ll have to be monitored through the night, she’s susceptible to panic attacks, anxiety, fear.”

“What do you mean shock?”

“Mr. Halpert, we’re in twenty degree weather and she hasn't shivered once,” she explained. “Not even a goosebump. She’s having trouble with her control, it's the first natural reaction anyone gets after a horrible experience like this. I suggest you follow up with a doctor after you get home, she’s going to need to help and support to get through this.”

“Thanks.” Was all Jim said as he folded up the paperwork and tucked it away in his coat. “We’ll be leaving now.” With help I was gently lowered off of the truck and back down on the ground, I was wearing shoes again, well sandals that weren't mine. I followed along side Jim as he guided me to our black SUV that we arrived in, I eased into the back sliding myself along the seats till I pressed up against the window. “Hotel first, then were heading to the airport.” Jim directed as he fiddled with his phone placing it to his ear.

“Hey, Mom,” he said, his voice flooded with sadness. “Um, we’ll be landing in tonight.” There was silence as he listened to his mom's response. “I can't talk about it right now, we’ll be in around two.” Oh wow, it was pretty late. The car stopped abruptly, glancing out the window I realized we were already at the hotel, it’s bright lights casting light into the car. “I’m just going to run up and grab our things.” Jim said, but I didn't turn, I was still staring at the lights from the building, my throat felt fine, but no words were coming out. Jim didn't say another word as he got out of the car, I watched as he jogged up the steps waving at a bellboy to follow him.

“Would you like me to put the heater on ma’am?” The driver suddenly asked. I barely glanced at him before my eyes fell to my hands, why couldn't I talk? Did I not want to talk? The driver did it anyway, with in minutes the car was filled with warm air, still didn't change how I felt. Jim was back in the car again, our bags were thrown into the back of the SUV and we were off again towards the airport. Jim didn't say anything, he just sat there looking out the window, my eyes were fixated on the white bandages wrapped around his knuckles. I wonder how badly he was hurt. If he broke anything. But the questions stayed lodged in my throat as we arrived on the tarmac. Jim helped me out of the car, his hand only on my back as he we walked up the steps onto the jet. I took a seat where I normally would, Jim disappeared towards the back returning with a giant white throw blanket. He carefully draped it over me, while my eyes looked over the lights of the airport.

“Pam,” he whispered, his bandaged hand appearing on top of mine, as he took as his seat next to me. I glanced down at the contact of our skin, like before I felt the weight but not the touch. “Would you like some food, tea?” He asked, as I continued to stare down at our hands. “We have coffee on board as well,” he offered, but still I didn't respond. “You want to sleep maybe?” Sleep didn't interest me, I didn't feel tired, nor did I feel awake either, just there. Jim carefully curled into my side, his left arm draping over my shoulders, while the right continued to hold my hand. “Alright.” was all he said as he leaned in to me. We continued to stay like that the entire flight, not budging once during take off or our landing. Once we landed Jim was gently getting me to my feet, his arm still around me as we made our way down the steps to the next car waiting for us. It was a smaller black sedan, looked to be an uber. Jim placed me in the back seat while he loaded our luggage in the truck before getting in and directing the driver to his parents house. Oh yeah, his parents. Wonder what they’ll think of me. I’m sure they’ll realize that I’m wrong, I probably look wrong. I feel dirty, I must look it too.

The drive wasn't too long, quiet roads, looked like there had been a light dusting along the streets, snowflakes were in the air as well. The Halpert house was very pretty, it was a brick exterior home which was very rare now days. Reminded me of the house from home alone, very big and tall. I noticed a couple cars in the driveway I wondered if Jim’s brothers were there as well. Hey guys here is my sexually assaulted girlfriend, her names Pam. It’s your own damn fault, Beesly.  Sounds about  right, I should have shut it all down earlier. My thoughts of self blame we’re stopped as the car came to a stop and Jim quickly got out to get my door, while the driver got the bags. Standing in the light snow, I watched as Jim collected the bags just as the front door opened, light from the house shining down the steps to us. Two men hurried down the steps, one was an older tall gentleman, his hair mostly grey, he was wearing a dark green robe over blue stripped pajamas, must be Jim’s dad. The other younger man was taller than Jim, didn't know that was even possible. He wore checkered pajama pants and grey t shirt as he followed behind Jim's dad. He had to be a brother, just not sure which one.

“We’ll get the bags, you two go in.” Jims dad directed as he and his other son grabbed the bags. Jim was at my side again, his hand on my back as he guided me up the steps and through the large doorway of the Halpert home. Very beautiful, I wasn't surprised. Dark wood floors were throughout the house, a giant staircase waited for you at the front, and up those stairs a woman was waiting. She was wearing a purple robe, she looked to be a few years older than me. Must be Jim’s sister in law perhaps.

“Jim.” A voiced breathed as an older woman entered from what looked to be the living room.

“Hey mom,” Jim said, as he wrapped his mother into a big hug. “I’m going to take Pam upstairs.” he said as he pulled away, and grabbed my hand. His mother only nodded and she sent a sad look my way. Is that what it's going to be like? Sad looks at Pam. I pondered the thought as Jim began to pull me up the stairs, we turned right at the head of the stairs down a hall of four bedrooms. He opened the last door on the right, which appeared to be a guest bedroom, also seemed to be someone's room in the past. It was a very boyish room. Sports posters along the wall, I recognized a few teams from Philly and took a guess to say that this was Jim’s old room. Pulling my hand from his I made my way to the bed, sitting down on the soft, light blue sheets, these were obviously newer. “Hey,” he whispered, as he kneeled in front of me, he gently gathered my hands into his. “I’m going to be right down stairs, just going to talk to my parents for a moment and get our bags. Okay?” I didn't respond, just dropped my eyes to our hands, I watched as he gently squeezed them before he dropped them and got to his feet and quietly left the room closing the door behind him.

I didn't move for what seemed like hours, my eyes glued to the floor as my mind slowly began to turn. I was at the Halperts house, I wasn't in Canada anymore, nor was I home. Where were my clothes? I glanced down at the fleece sweatshirt that officer jones put me in. It was huge. Obviously made for a much larger man, not a women. Ugh. The thought of a male wearing this made my stomach turn, quickly I got to my feet and rushed to the bathroom. Crashing onto the floor I barely had enough time to throw the seat up as the contents of my stomach poured out of my mouth. Minutes passed as I emptied my stomach till I was dry heaving, my stomach convulsing. I pushed myself away so I was leaning against the cold wall and suddenly everything was coming back.

I was sexually assaulted. I was touched, without my permission. I could feel my chest rise and fall as the realization of the situation began to dawn on me. Feeling was returning to my body, I felt like my skin was on fire, I looked down at the black sweatshirt feeling it burning my skin. Frantically I tugged it over my head, ripping it away from body like it was boiling water, I continued with my broken jeans until all I was left in was the lingerie. A loud sob released through my lips as I looked down at my chest and felt myself heave again, it was disturbing. My skin was red, hot to touch, bloody scratches along my skin, my one exposed breast was beginning to turn a mean shade of purple. I could still feel him, his hands, his fingers pawing at me ripping at my skin. Rolling to my side unable to get to my feet, I turned the shower on, increasing the heat as high as it would go. Once steam began to fill the room I climbed in, not bothering to discard the rest of my clothes. It felt good, it hurt, but I could still feel it. Like the water was hot enough to disinfect his filth off of me. With my arms wrapped around my legs, and the hot water pouring down on me, I couldn't feel the tears that were falling down my face.

Jim’s POV

My family was silent as I explained what happened. My mother was holding a pack of ice to my hand, while Pete’s wife Stephanie handed out hot cups of coffee. My mind wasn't fully wrapped around what had happened, I still haven't felt the pain in my knuckles, nor can I accept that the love of my life is upstairs unable to talk to me because she was sexually assaulted by a monster. I haven't even begun to think about the pitch meeting I have to cancel tomorrow.

“Will there be charges pressed against him?” My father asked, breaking the long silence.

“The authorities said they’ll conduct their own investigation and I told them we want no part of it.” I explained, my voice coming out bleak.

“You don't want her to press charges?” My mother asked, as she pulled back the ice pack and examined my hand. My knuckles were raw, skin cracked open but nothing broken.

“I don't want her anywhere near him,” I mumbled. “I don't want to be near him.”

“Looks like you’ve gotten in some good hits,” my brother said, I couldn't help but chuckle.

“If he wasn't completely wasted I wouldn't have had such an upper hand,” I admitted, Roy was a beast. Silence rang again as the sounds of a shower echoed through the halls. She was showering. That means she was moving. That’s good right? “I’m going to check on her.” I said, while getting to my feet. “I’ll see you in the morning.” I ignored their sad eyes as I made my way up the stairs, and down the hall to my old bedroom. I never understood why Tom just didn't redo this room for my mother, but she always had a hard time letting memories go. The room was steamy and barely lit by the light from the bathroom. I shut the door behind me, locking it before I walked quietly into the bathroom. It was clear she had gotten sick, the smell of bile rising to my nose as I saw her discarded sweatshirt on the ground.

The real mess was the little ball of life at the floor of the tub. She looked, well not Pam. There was no color in her face as she gripped her knees to her chest for dear life. She was still dressed in her white lingerie, completely see through at this point, the the large tear that Roy put in it didn't matter. I figured it was new, after I told her white was my favorite color I spotted it hidden in our closet, obviously very excited for when she would wear it. Now I hated it. I wanted to burn it. Her chest was hidden as she rested her chin on her knees, but I’ve already seen the damage, the scratches, bruises, the fucking bite mark on her breast. I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep my anger bottled, I couldn't punch the wall no matter how appealing it sounded. She didn't move as I entered the bathroom, her dull eyes glued to the tile pattern before her. I began to strip down, kicking my jeans off and pulling the blue shirt over my head, it was covered in blood and bad memories now. Still in my black boxer briefs I began to carefully climb in behind her. The water was boiling hot, felt like lava against my skin. My parents bathtub was just big enough for me to squeeze in behind her, with my legs stretched out alongside her. She still hadn’t moved from her little ball, her eyes fixated in front of her, though they appeared to be miles away.

All I could do was watch, I watched as her back moved up and down slowly with each breath. Occasionally her finger would twitch like she was flinching from something. I wasn't able to resist as I stretched my hand out, gently placing it on her shoulder. She didn't flinch, she didn't move at all as my hand covered her shoulder where some dry blood sat. Well, might as well clean that, I thought to myself while I reached next to me for the loofah and soap. I soaped up the loofah before carefully pressing it to her shoulder, again she didn't move. The only sound was the pitter patter of the water as I continued small circles on her shoulder watching the dry blood drift away. I made my way across her shoulder blades gently massaging her skin, white suds drifting down her back. I continued the diligent work of cleaning her until I noticed her back shudder causing my hand to freeze.

“Pam?” I asked, leaning around to see her face. She looked completely pained as she looked back at me, then she released the most heartbreaking sob causing her whole body to shake. “Hey, hey, hey,” I whispered as I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her back against my chest. Her loud sobs continued to pour out of her, causing her whole body to shake, she was gasping for air so hard that I realized this was something more than just crying. She was having a panic attack, like the officer warned me about. Her arms began to struggle against mine, like she was trying to break free from my hold, her legs thrashing against the tub as she struggled to sit up. But I wasn't going to let go; never, ever again. Tightening my grip, I held on for dear life as she struggled and cried against me. Pressing my mouth into her ear I whispered encouragement while her chest heaved up and down. I whispered that I loved her, that I wasn't letting go, I’m not going anywhere, and she would always be safe with me.

It took minutes, hell maybe it was hours, until she finally began to sag against me, her breathing finally returning to normal. By now the water was cold, freezing in fact. Doing the best maneuvering possible I reached with my foot to gently kick the handle of the faucet till the cold water stopped pouring on us. She was shivering now, her whole body shaking against mine. Slowly I got to my feet, carefully sitting her up while I grabbed two big white towels. I wrapped one around my waist before throwing the other over my shoulder so I could lean down and help her out of the tub. She followed still shivering, I forced her back to the mirror and I began to undo the top of her lingerie. As soon as I got the torn white fabric off of her body I dropped it in the trash next to the counter, same followed with the bottoms till she was completely naked in front of me. Her eyes never moved from my chest as I wrapped the big towel around her body and began drying her off, before directing her back into my childhood room. Our luggage waited for us by the door, I’m sure my mother ushered my brother to carry them up. I grabbed her luggage from the floor and placed it on the bed, as she continued to stand at the end of the bed her eyes were fixated on something on my old school desk. I pulled out her pajamas, along with a pair of underwear.

“Hey,” I whispered, as I approached her.

“Is this you?” She asked, her voice so quiet, cracking along the way. One of her fingers was pointing down to my yearbook photo my mother had framed.

“Oh God,” I chucked as I looked over the picture. “Yeah.”

“You look so dorky,” she laughed. She laughed! Well snorted, but it was something. She was still there, my Pam was still there.

Chapter 19

Pam’s POV

Sleep was not easy, more than a couple times I was reliving the horrible moments of Roy and the bathroom and waking with a start only to find myself curled into Jim’s arms. After the sixth time, I called it quits and carefully climbed out of the bed, gently trying to not wake Jim who was snoring into his pillow. My feet were quiet as I made my way to the door and quietly snuck out of the room and down the hall. It was very early judging by how dark it was outside, maybe five or six? I quietly made my way down the stairs and in the general direction of where a kitchen may be. I paused when I saw the kitchen lights were on and Jim’s mom walking around the kitchen humming to herself. Before I could retreat back upstairs she caught sight of me with what, I can only assume, are well-tuned mother senses.

“Pam!” she whispered while waving me to enter the kitchen. I immediately felt awkward as I entered the kitchen realizing my first encounter with her was my wordless look at her last night. “I was going to make some pancakes, would you like some?”

“I’d love some,” I replied, as I took a seat at the large island. Silence rang as she made her way around the kitchen, taking a quick moment to hand me a mug of black coffee, placing a small container of cream and sugar next to me as well. “Thank you,” I whispered, as I quickly made the coffee to my liking, letting the hot contents scorch my throat. “Ms. Halpert-”

“Please Sweetie, call me Betsy,” she corrected, while she whisked up the ingredients.

“Besty,” I corrected. “I’m very sorry about showing up so unexpectedly last night.” I watched as she lifted her gaze up from her work and into mine.

“Pam,” she smiled. “You have nothing to be sorry for, Jim knows you two are always welcomed over here, I wish it were under better circumstances but you’re here nonetheless and I want you to be as comfortable as possible.”

“Thank you.” I smiled lightly before looking back down at my mug, lost for words.

“You know, I had a similar situation happen to me when I was younger,” she suddenly said, after moments of silence. My eyes lifted up to watch her as she continued to work on her pancakes, her eyes never lifting as she began to tell the story. “Has Jim mentioned Larissa to you?”

I was sure that was a name I’ve never heard. “No, he hasn't.”

“Well, Larissa is his older sister, well half-sister,” she explained.  I tried my best to keep the look of surprise off my face with this new information but it was quite shocking. “He’s never met her, I had her before I met Gerald,” she continued. “It was my 18th birthday, I was out with a couple of my friends at a college party. You know, dumb young girls partying,” she laughed, lightly. “I was drunk, of course, and hanging around this guy I had just met that night. I won't get into the details but I woke up naked and bruised in the back of my car, alone.” I felt my heart jump to my throat as she went on. “Couldn't remember anything, who he was, where I was, or much of what happened really for quite a while after. I just got dressed and drove home, and I-” she paused for a moment while she swallowed. “I cried. I told my mother what happened, she took me to the hospital, police were involved, many tests were run. Of course, no DNA could come back in those days, but a pregnancy test was the same as anything else. So within a span of a few hours, and bad decisions my virginity was taken, I was raped, and I was pregnant.” The kitchen fell silent as she heated up the stove and got ready to pour the batter. “It was very hard, we didn't have certain options back then like we do now. I never went to college, I was embarrassed for my friends to see what happened to me, to see that I was pregnant. I was ashamed of myself. I gave birth to Larissa, and she was adopted by a very nice family who lived in New Jersey. It was hard, but where I was at mentally it wouldn't have been a good life for her. Not like the one she has now.”

“Have you ever met her?” I found myself asking.

“Oh no,” she answered. “It was decided between me and her parents that she not know who she was or where she came from. I know she's a kindergarten teacher, married, with a two-year-old little girl,” she smiled. “But the aftermath of everything, Pam, it was hard. I’m not going to sugar coat it or make it seem better than it was,” she said, her voice strong and unwavering. “But you get through it, it makes you a different but stronger person in the end. From the short time that I’ve known you, and based on how highly Jim speaks of you,” she quietly reached across the counter to place her hand gently on top of mine, “you’ll kick this in the ass honey.” My throat felt like it was sewn shut, as I looked up at her with grateful eyes, all I was able to do was smile at her. “Now, I am in need of your help,” she informed me, her tone immediately light and happy. “Jim is a very difficult person to shop for.”

“Oh God,” I groaned. “I haven't even gotten him anything.” How the hell did I let that slide by?

“Good! We can go together!” she smiled, as she poured the pancake mix onto the pan on the stove. My mind drifted to gift ideas for Jim, what do you get a man that can easily own anything he wanted. How the hell did Christmas sneak up so fast?

“There you are,” a raspy voice echoed from the living room. I glanced over my shoulder at Jim as he made his way towards me, one hand rubbing the sleep from his eye.

“I couldn't sleep,” I admitted, as he approached me, his fingers tucking my frizzy hair behind my ear.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “We could make you an appointment.” I didn't need to ask what this was in reference to, it was for a therapist. Like the officer suggested I will need to talk to someone, though that wasn't something I’d quite enjoy.

“She should see Larry,” Betsy interrupted. “He only does home visits but he’s right down the street.”

“Does Dad still have his number?” Jim asked as he made himself a cup of coffee, and quickly placed a kiss on his mother's cheek.  

“Oh, I’m sure he does,” she said. “And then after that, I’m stealing Pammy for some secret shopping.” Jim’s eyes flashed over to mine with concern.

“I don't think she-”

“She’ll be with me James,” his mother said sternly.

“You can do a video presentation for Stuart instead of canceling,” I suggested. His eyes continued searching over mine, worry never leaving his face. “I’m not going to lie and say I’m okay, but I am better,” I assured him.

“And shopping pretty much heals everything,” Betsy added, with a big smile as she dished up two pancakes sliding the plate my way. I didn't realize how hungry I was till the sweet smell of syrup rose up my nose.

“Oh my gosh, I’m starving,” I muttered as I began to devour the sweet breakfast in front of me.

“That’s good,” Jim approved as he took a seat next to me.

“Tom, Marcie and Vanessa should be over soon,” his mom informed him as she began to dish up his plate of pancakes.

“Oh thank God, I haven't pinched those baby cheeks in weeks.”

Jim’s POV

So Pam is okay, I am okay, we’re okay. Right? I felt like I was hovering a bit too much, waiting for that moment that she broke but it never came. After breakfast, she went to shower and it took most of my power to not hop in the shower with her, make sure she was alright. Didn't stop me from standing outside the door. But it was silent, just the sound of the shower. By the time she was done, I was dressed in jeans and a sweater holding the ring in my hand. What the hell am I supposed to do now? I turned around at the sound of the door opening, quickly stuffing the rin in my he came out in a towel and smiled at me, I could see the marks on her chest and it made my stomach turn but I managed a smile back at her. She got dressed, her back to the mirror as she pulled on black jeans and a grey sweater. Her curly hair she threw up into an adorable little ponytail and she didn't bother with makeup. She was still gorgeous.

“You look beautiful,” I whispered, as I went to lean down and place a quick peck on her cheek, but she quickly turned her head so they landed right on her lips. I immediately began to pull away, feeling guilty like I had invaded her privacy, but her hand quickly stopped me as she placed it on the back of my head holding me there.

“I’m not going to break if you touch me,” she whispered against my lips. All I could do was stare down into her eyes as she looked up at me, almost like she was looking through me. Slowly I stretched till my arms were completely wrapped around her midsection, pulling her tightly against my chest, burying my face into her neck. “I love you,” I whispered roughly into her ear, as tears soaked my voice.

“I love you, Jim,” she whispered while holding to me tightly, her hands fisting around the collar of my sweater. I wasn't sure how long we stood there, minutes, maybe hours. I found myself trying to memorize the feeling of her body pressed along mine. Eventually, we parted once my brother and sister in law arrived with Vanessa is tow. Pam was infatuated with her, her eyes lighting up with the sight of the baby. It almost took pliers when it came to departing the two, against my better judgment I let my mother take Pam out of the house when in reality I wanted to throw her over my shoulder and shield her away from the world. It sounded like I needed therapy, not Pam.

“Where the hell did you find her man?” Tom asked as Marcie and Stephanie took fussy Vanessa upstairs. “She’s awesome!” Pete returned back into the room with beers in hand, it seemed way too early but I didn't decline.

“She’s my assistant,” I explained I ignored the way his eyes lit up at the information.

“Well mom loves her.” my dad said, as he drank his beer.

“I hope so,” I mumbled while reaching into my pocket and pulling out the small black box.

“Holy shit.” Pete laughed. “Jim’s about to nail one to the floor!” he cheered while reaching for the box.

“Damn, Mr. Hot Shot.” Tom teased while he and Pete examined the rings. “Trying to make us look bad?” I rolled my eyes at both of them, as they gawked over the ring.

“She really the one Jim?” my dad asked, his tone reaching near seriousness.

“Yeah, Dad.” I paused to smile. “She really is. I was hoping to do it down here, but things changed.”

“It would be better at home anyway,” Tom said while holding me back the ring. “You know girls, they gotta show their mom, and their sister, and their friends, blah blah blah.” he laughed.

“And they want it super special,”  Pete added.

“I don't think Pam’s that kind of girl.”

“All girls are that kind of girl Jim.” they both said. No, Pam was more than that.

Chapter 20 WOW!

Jim’s POV

“Thank you so much for this opportunity Stuart; I can promise you Athlead will fulfill your highest dreams.” I replied, not able to help myself as I smiled back through the web camera at the round table of executives to the Blue Jays. Thankfully, Canadians live up to their reputation of great manners, and Stuart was very willing to do a video chat presentation. Did I mention they signed?

“No, thank you, Mr. Halpert, for the amazing artwork, please pass on my gratitude to Ms. Beesly as well.”

“Will do.” I smiled before signing off and doing a small fist bump to myself. This was another 6.5 million dollars for Athlead and more of Pam’s artwork out there. Just then I heard the front door open followed by the sound of Pam’s beautiful laughter. I quickly got to my feet and rushed out of my childhood bedroom before flying down the stairs nearly tackling Pam to the ground as I engulfed her into my arms. “I got it.”

“No way!” she yelled as she pushed me away to look into my eyes, with a beautiful smile across her face, that smile was all the reassurance I needed to know everything with Pam would be okay, and it was.

One month later

“So, Big Tuna,” Andy said, as he barged into my office for the third time that day. After the long impromptu Christmas vacation it was nice to be back in Philly, back in the swing of things. Pam has officially moved all of her belongings into our home, including her stuff she had stored at her sisters house. Pam and I spend the majority of last weekend converting one of the guest rooms, the one with the best lighting, into her own personal art studio. Against her disagreement I order some shelving that should be installed today. I wanted every aspect of this house to feel like her own home, no matter the name on it or who pays for it. This weekend we have an interior designer coming in to redo our bedroom, and living room “Got plans for the big day?”

“What day would that be Andy?” I asked, my eyes and attention remaining on my emails.

“V Day man!” he basically shouted. “What have you got planned for the Misses?”

“Not sure yet.” I lied, trying to appear more interested in my emails than this conversation. I had two tickets to take Pam to an art showing of Chuck Close and dinner at Ocean Prime. I know Valentines Day wasn't a huge favorite of Pam’s but I still planned to spoil her every way she’ll let me. Of course no one in my family, mostly my mother will ease up on the idea of me proposing to her on Valentines Day. While moving her things from her sisters home we got lunch with her parents again, I was able to have a one on one with William to discuss my intentions with his daughter which was similar to the first time, very straight to the point.

“Look, Jim,” he said low, as we took a walk out onto their patio and had a seat. “I’ve never been a man of tradition, and I’ve never seen anyone look at someone without any doubt they’re the one for them. And I don't have any doubt that you won't make my daughter happy.” So the fate is sealed, I’m asking Pam to be my wife. Just the when and how the hell am I gonna kick her ass with it is not set.  

“Nard Dog needs to get laid, any places in mind?”

“No Andy,” I sighed, finally dragging my eyes away from the screen to look at his goofy smile. “Maybe ask another single co-worker?”

“What about Karen?” he asked. “She coming back, feel like there’s been plenty of time between you-”

“Look at that.” I sighed, pretending to glance at my watch. “Closing time, why don't we continue this tomorrow?” I suggested, while getting to my feet and working to collect my stuff, before I can go collect my girlfriend. For Christmas Pam got me a new messenger bag, made of real leather to replace the one I’ve had since college and I love it, I almost wanted to take it with me everywhere but Pam informed me that was called a murse and I can't have one. Once I shuffled the humming Andy out of my office I quietly walked over to Pam who was hunched over a pile of merchandise proofs from the Blue Jays. Since we got back she had been plenty busy with being my assistant and handling basically the non-existent marketing department. “Think you can cut out early, Beesly?” I watched as her head snapped up, her beautiful smile appearing as she took me in.

“I think I can make that happen,” she responded and quickly got to her feet and collected her belongings.

“What do you say to driving?” I suggested, jingling my keys in front of her as we made our way to the elevator. Like I said before, I have this mission of making Pam feel as comfortable with my belongings like they were her own, home, car and even including my money. She was better about the idea of my money covering almost everything, but she deeply enjoyed buying groceries. Her car for now sits in the open spot of my garage, we were able to get replacement keys but it was on its last legs anyway so we take mine. What I was really trying to do was warm her up to the idea of driving a nice car so we could look into getting her one in times I might not be around. I’ve received two huge commissions off of these Toronto sales, some was used for the ring and the rest I want to buy the car with. My plan was to buy her the Q5 version of my car, but in white. So I’ve been enticing her with driving my car in hopes of convincing her to let me get one for her.

“Are you just over driving me around everywhere?” she asked as she snatched the keys from my hand.

“No, I just know how you are with your independence.” I began, as we loaded onto the elevator. “You know maybe we could look into getting one.”

“A car?” she sputtered, while her big green eyes looked up at me. “Jim you don’t-”

“Have to do that, I know.” I interrupted, while holding the elevator door open to let her out. “I want to do that, I want you to have something reliable in case I’m not there.”

“That’s a lot of money if you’re trying to get another luxury vehicle.” she pointed out, both of us gave Ryan a small wave before leaving.

“You know I got a commission on both the Toronto sales.” I informed her.

“How much?” she asked, as we got into the car, this time her in the driver seat. It usually took her a minute to get the seat adjusted closer for her to reach everything.

“Enough,” I said, I was never a bragger with the amount of money I’ve received when I closed a sale, or just being an owner. We fell silent after that as she focused hard on pulling out of the parking lot and onto the road. The silence were never a bad thing, usually a comforting silence between us.

“What do you think of marriage?” she suddenly asked. I could feel my neck pinch as I turned my head quickly to look at her. Her eyes didn't move, glued to road like it was her first time driving.

“What do I think of marriage?” I repeated, my thoughts back to the ring that’s been sitting in one of my dress shoes for over a month.

“Yeah,” she almost whispered. “You for it, against it, not really on your radar kind of thing.”

“I’m very for it.” I answered.

“Are you- are you for it for us?” she asked, tentatively.

“Oh yeah,” I breathed. “Very. Are you?”

“Very,” she laughed, while turning down our street. “I never thought I’d feel so for it, so ready I guess.” I never thought I would feel ready for marriage, it was always the last thing on my mind with Karen, but with Pam.. it’s just logical. Pam carefully pulled into garage next to her vehicle which now I could tow are this point. “I mean it makes logical sense now.” she added as we made our way into the house. “Everything that’s been up to this point you know,” she babbled. Like I’ve mentioned before I’ve gotten to know Pam very well over the last few months, so I can tell when she’s got something on her mind and she doesn't know how to share it with me. “Dating, moving, work and uh other things-” she paused, her eyes glued to her keds. “I guess what I am trying to say is that maybe we should-”

“Wait a second.” I interrupted. Her head snapped up revealing the panic on her face and I grabbed her wrist and began taking her up the stairs to our bedroom. She was silent but followed me into the bedroom, I grabbed her arms holding her in place. “Stay right here.” I breathed, before turning to enter our closet. Grabbing one of my shoes in the very back I pulled out the small black velvet box and took a deep breath. Holy shit Halpert, here we go. Walking back to Pam she remained standing in the middle of the room, concern and worry on her face, her eyes falling to the small box in my hand.

“Oh my god.” she whispered.

“This is my job Beesly,” I teased her, though my heart was pounding so loudly I could barely hear myself. With one more deep breath I lowered myself down onto one knee, watching as her hands flew to her mouth. “Pam.. will you marry me?”

Chapter 21

Pam’s POV

God, I’m an idiot.  I basically just tried to propose to Jim and now he’s hiding in the closet. What the hell did I read wrong over the last few weeks? I thought, and felt that things have been amazing. Moving all of my belongings into the house; we made an art room just for me, which I’ve never had. We’re decorating and merging our stuff, our lives; we’re growing as a couple. And now he’s hiding in the closet. 

There were sounds of muffling before Jim finally appeared out of our closet, and before I could open my mouth to apologize my eyes fell onto the small balck velvet box in his hands. 

“Oh my god.” I gasped, feeling my limbs go cold. 

“This is my job, Beesly,” he teased, but there was a noticeable quiver in his voice. He took a moment, turning the box in his hand before taking a deep breath and lowering himself down to one knee. My hands instinctively flew to my mouth to contain the gasp I wanted to release while tears rimmed my eyes. “Pam… will you marry me?” he asked, while opening the small velvet box. 

“Oh my god.” It was the ring, THE ring from the shop, the one my mother made me try on. “H-how?”

“I went back the next day, bought it on the spot.” he whispered, his eyes glistening as he looked up at me. “So?” he pressed. I wasn't able to answer at the point, my emotions clenched my throat, I managed an excited. “Yes?” He asked, a slow smile spreading on his lips, as he got to his feet. 

“Oh my god, yes!” I finally managed as my face was beginning to sting from the size of the smile on it but I couldn't help myself. “Of course!”

“Okay then,” he smiled, as he gently pulled the ring out and placed it on my shaking finger. It was gorgeous, beyond gorgeous, and beyond perfect. Jim quickly swooped me into a hug, my feet dangling off the ground as his lips crashed down onto mine. “I love you,” he finally breathed when we broke apart and he placed me back down on the ground.

“I love you too.” I smiled as I blinked away tears. “I can't believe this.” I whispered.

“Oh come on Beasly,” he chuckled, his fingers tucking a strand of my hair behind my ear. “I’m not that sneaky.”

“When did you get it?” I asked.

“The next day,” he smiled. “When we had the ESPN renewal, Darryl and I left early to get it.”

“Oh Darryl knew,” I teased, my cheeks becoming sore from all the smiling. 

“I wouldn't be surprised if all of Philly didn't know how much I love you Pamela Beesly.” The tears finally overflowed as I wrapped myself tighter into his arms.  I wasn't sure how long we stood there holding each other, or how long I stood there with the most ridiculous smile on my face, I just knew that I was incredibly happy. 

The next morning it really hit, the engagement, the ring, the excitement. Especially the ring, how did he know? It was beyond perfect. Jim is beyond perfect. With every twist and turn the light bounced off of it like a disco ball. I was already picking out my outfit around the ring, which would best compliment the rose gold. I chose my maroon high waisted, wide legged pants, a white short sleeve blouse, and topped it off with white heels. He was already up when I crawled out of bed. By the time I was done getting ready, I was placing his clothes on the bed when he came into the bedroom huffing and puffing and looking sexy with sweat dripping from his work out. He stopped to place a quick kiss on the cheek before heading to the shower.  

While Jim was getting ready I made my way downstairs to make our lunches. Since we returned from New York Jim’s mother was nice enough to share some of her amazing recipes with me. Her cooking just blew my mind, she should have her own restaurant or bakery. Speaking of mothers, my thoughts flicked to my mother thinking of how I was going to tell her, maybe I should make a trip up there again and tell both my parents. Can't forget Isabel either, she’ll find out somehow before I even tell her. Do we do announcements as well? Who do those even go to? Are they on the guest list as well. It’s been less than twenty four hours and my mind is already drowning with marriage thoughts. 

“I can see the wheels spinning from here,” Jim commented, as he entered the kitchen while he finished tying his tie. How is it that he constantly looks like a GQ model? “What’s going on, Beesly?” He asked, while preparing our two tumblers with coffee. 

“How am I supposed to not show this off?” I asked, leaning against the counter and staring at his back.  

“Who said you shouldn't? Though, I never took you for the bragging type,” he teased, as he turned around and handed me my coffee. “You look beautiful by the way.” he noted, his eyes scouring over my body, before he wagged his eyebrows at me, and grabbed his lunch. 

“I don't consider it bragging per say,” I countered, as I turned to follow him to the garage. “It’s kind of hard to miss.”

“Well, Karen’s coming back today,” he informed me while grabbing his wallet and keys off the table, before he shrugged his coat on. His eyes avoided my face as I pulled my coat on, I’m sure I looked annoyed, I was annoyed, and I don't get annoyed much.

“Yeah, that’s what your fiance wants to hear.” I grumbled. 

“Mph,” he moaned as he rocked his head back, a large smile on his lips. “I love the sound of that.” I opened my mouth to respond but was interrupted by knocking at the front door. We both gave each other a look of confusion, it was barely seven in the morning, and honestly we never had visitors. I opened the large wooden door while Jim pulled on his book bag. It was just a man in the doorway, he honestly looked like a salesman, young, tall and clean shaven, wearing a crisp navy blue suit. 

“Pam Beesly?” he asked, his voice sounded very athouritive almost military like.

“Um, yes,” I replied, holding the door open a bit wider let the crisp February wind blow in. 

“You are hereby served to appear in front of the Supreme Court in Canada, February 12th at 9 am.” he responded, while at the same time reaching into his coat jacket to pull out a white envelope and extended it out to me. 

“Oh my god.” I whispered, my eyes fixed on the white envelope in his hand. 

“Pam?” Jim asked, pulling the door open wider as he stood behind me, his eyes falling onto the man on our porch. Jim rarely got puffy, but I could feel it now, his chest puffing up behind me as he squared his shoulders. “What’s going on?”

“I’m being summoned,” I whispered, while grabbing the envelope out of the man's hand. 

“What?” he snapped, grabbing the envelope out of my hand. “I told them we didn't want any part of this.” he stated, his voice even and calm, but still held that power beneath it. “We left that night. Didn't even make statements.”

“Doesn't matter,” the man replied. “I suggest you make accommodations.” he added before turning on his head and heading back to his car that was parked along the curb. Jim quickly slammed the door shut before he ripped open the envelope, his eyes scanning over the letter. 

“How the hell did they even get this.” he scoffed as he rolled his eyes and folded the letter back up. “I’ll call Robert, see if he can take a look at it.” I recognized the name as Athleads lawyer, someone we keep on retainer who usually reviewed our customer contracts. 

“Jim, it’s a summons I don't think you can really argue with it.” I muttered, as I began to process the situation, I’ve never been to court before, I've never even gotten so much as a parking ticket.   

“No, it’s bullshit,” he hissed, while pulling his phone out, his fingers moving quickly over the screen,  “I don't want you anywhere near him.” he continued, pressing his phone to his ear, it was clear the emotions he was feeling, the frustration was settling into his eyes. “Hey Rob,” he said into the phone before turning and heading into the second living room. I looked down at my ring that I was twirling around, its sparkle casting everywhere as a little ray of sun hit it. This certainly put a damper on the day, Jim was going to spend all day fussing with this when really it was inevitable. While I’ve been summoned back to Canada to see the man who attempted to rape me. “Can you do lunch today?” I overheard Jim ask from the living room. “No, it’ll be personal. Just meet us at Athlead. Alright, see you then.” Jim came back into the foyer, annoyance clear on his face as he shoved his phone back into his pocket and grabbed his book bag once more. “We’ll figure it out.” he muttered, while opening the garage door and beckoning me to leave with him. Tightening my coat around my body I grabbed my purse and made my way past him.  

I quietly loaded into the passenger seat, my mind felt like a million miles away as we made our way to work. It was easy to tell that Jim was brooding, I watched his knuckles flex and unflex on the steering wheel while his eyes narrowed into the distance. Would this hurt us? Last time we seemed to barely breath around each other, now we're just getting back into the swing of things. We still haven't even had sex since that night, cuts were becoming scars and brusies were fianlly fading but that didn't mean all was well in Pam Beesly’s head. Could I handle this? Looks like therapy with Larry would have to continue at this point. The thought of seeing Roy was making my skin crawl, the worry of Jim seeing him was bubbling there as well. He nearly broke his hand punching Roy into the ground, he seemed ready to take on anyone. The ride remained silent all the way up to us parking into our spot at work. I quietly got out making my way around the front of the car putting myself in front of the fuming Jim as he slammed his door shut. 

“Can we just forget about this?” I asked, looking up at his face. It was cold, rested in frustrustration while his eyes were sad.

“How do we forget about this Pam?” he argued. 

“Not completely, just for a little bit.” I explained, reaching out I grabbed his hand, lacing our fingers together. “We literally just got engaged, Jim.” Finally his hard eyes softened, as they glanced over my face. “Less than twenty four hours ago you asked me to be your wife and I said yes.”  I reminded him, as I reached out and ran my hand down the side of his arm, I needed to feel his warmth so I leaned in and snuggled closer, he wrapped his strong arms around me and it’s the best I’ve felt since I woke up this morning. “I know this sucks but I want it to suck later, okay?” After a moment he took a deep breath, and nodded. 

“You’re right,” he spoke, his voice was tight. “We can forget this, for a while.”

Jim’s POV

I couldn't forget it, we’ve been at work for a couple hours and it was the only thing on my mind. Getting stuck on the elevator with Andy didn't bother me, not even bumping into Karen outside of Darryl’s office seemed to faze me. Once I entered my office I shut the door and haven't moved since, my leg bounced up and down while I tapped my pencil against my desk. Pam was right, her subpoena was air locked, she had no way around the court order. I just don't understand why they even need her, Toronto was going after him themselves. I couldn’t care less what happened to him, I just didn't want Pam near him. We were just finally starting to settle back into our routine. Pam was still skyping with Larry every Friday, talked about how she was feeling emotionally, he said she was coming along very well for an assault victim. There was of course the subject of our sex life, which was still a touchy subject, but I wouldn't dare push Pam into somehing she didn't want, or wasn't ready for. This is one really shitty way to spend your engagement. A quick rap at the door pulled me out of my self brooding, as I looked up to see Robert standing in the doorway, a cocky grin on his face as always. Personally I’ve known Robert for almost ten years, we brought him on early on for all of our contracting and kept him ever since, outside of us he is a very successful lawyer, best in Philly, mostly in traffic disputes. 

“Jimmy, my man,” he smiled as I got to my feet, to shake his hand firmly. Robert was like any lawyer you’ve met, but with an odd... quirk I guess you could say. His suit was a dark grey tweed, full three piece suit finished with a gold pocket watch, and gold cufflinks. He was that kind of man, his hair was always buzzed short, and topped with a fedora. “How’s it hanging?” He asked, while dropping his hat onto the table and taking a seat across from me. 

“I would say good, beside this bullshit,” I replied, while handing him the envelope. Undoing the letter he took a moment to scan it over with his eyes, his face giving no emotions away as to how he felt. Lawyers. 

“Well it is sealed tight,” he mumbled, his eyes continuing to scan over the letter. I glanced through my window to where Pam sat, she seemed engrossed in paperwork, her brows furrowed as she concentrated, her engagement ring shined brightly in the fluorescent light. She deserves dinner, a night to celebrate the fact that she’s engaged, I’m sure she’s dying to tell her sister. “It’s from the defense attorney, they want to question her as a witness.” He explained, as he placed the letter back down. 

“What do mean as a witness?” I asked. “She’s the fucking victim.” 

“Not by the looks of this,” he assessed, crossing his legs and folding his hands in his lap. “It’s the oldest argument in the book, Jim.. ‘She wanted it’. ‘She asked for it.’” I took a deep breath, letting the hot air out through my nose, while tapping my anxious fingers along my thigh. 

“So what do we need to do?”

“We do nothing,” he replied. “Only thing that’s going to win this is her word, and her word alone.” he continued, as he jabbed a finger towards Pam.

“You don't happen to be free this weekend?” I asked, pulling my eyes away from Pam, Robert already has a dirty smile playing on his lips, a plan forming in his mind, I'm sure. He loved nothing more than playing dirty. 

“For you darling, I’m always free.”

Hello the good people of this website! This is literally a therapy post, I am spilling my guts and maybe getting a little personal but I think I need to do this haha. So by all means you can skip and wait till I actually post a chapter of this story. 

No one:

Fanfic writer: here's my page and a half of excuses of why I haven't updated.

So I totally lied in the last post obviously I haven't been back. I haven't touched this story in months until this week, I miss it I really love this story and really want to finish it or continue it. SO this is just an update to let you know I'm alive (for those who care) and fair warning everything below is more of a therapy session for me, not for clout I just would like to write this put and feel like I've accomplished something. So do not feel the need to read this. 

I got married in November! It was an amazing day, seeing everything I stressed and cried over for months finally came together and it was such an amazing night. SO much of my family I haven't seen came out very far and it was so great to see them!

And then we honeymooned in Disneyland for a week and it was amazing, our first vacation just him and I and it was wonderful.

And then I get a call on our last day that my mother had passed away suddenly. And it was just so quick from everything being amazing being with my husband starting this new and amazing journey of our lives just came crashing down with that 10 second phone call. We rushed home, it was a horrible feeling being a state away not being able to do anything, everyones trying to call me and Im in the back seat of my car screaming my head off because it can be true. She can't be gone. I just talked to her last night? She literally just sent me a video last night of her sharing a popsicle with my dog. But she was she was really gone. And the last time I saw her was my wedding day. 

It's been hard, entering December I had a funeral on my birthday for my mom, turned 24 without my mom, Christmas without my mom. Lots of stuff without my mom. My mom was my whole world she really was, my number one fan, first person I'd call after work, or if there was problem. She was just always there and now she's not and its been a very big struggle of mine. 

Everything has suffered, work, my marriage, health, my writing. I hadn't been motivated to do anything, getting up was my biggest accomplishment of the day for weeks it felt like. I wasn't me for a while, I didn't smile, or laugh and I was angry. I was livid at everyone and everything. My mom died and the whole world was still going on?? What the hell? Weeks went by and I was like this, bitter and sad, looking for the opportunity for someone to look at me wrong. Which I'm not a fighter but in those days I was ready. 

I was tired of not being Sierra anymore, I didn't want to be this bitter person anymore. I want to be able to listen to music again, read and write without feeling so much pain. Every time I smiled or laughed I was eaten with such guilt I hated it. And then my sister in law gave birth, she asked me to be in the room, I watched the whole thing happen and it just rocked my world guys. It was the most insane and most beautiful thing Ive ever seen. And this helped, watching this little dude come into the world and I get to be his Aunt. 

Slowly things have gotten better. Were two months in and Ive been listening to music, reading, still no writing but my mind is crowded with ideas. Jim and Pam, Star Wars original ideas all crammed in my head with no way out. So I just started writing them down, small little snippets out of my head onto paper so I wouldn't forget. Basically I started journaling, because if I didn't write them down they wouldn't stop buzzing around in my head. 

So many ideas were just begging for freedom and I was getting annoyed. Like why can't I have an assistant in my head organizing my thoughts?! 

And now were here haha I have read this story start to finish and it has renewed my love of this story and for writing. It has also reminded me of how badly I want to be an author, why I started writing in the first place. So yes I'll be updating this, whether it will be regular updates I can't promise that haha. But thank you all who have commented, jelly beaned and read this story it truly means a lot. Once again not here for clout or attention, or even remorse just wanted to talk to some people who aren't my husband or therapist, ya know?