As with every other morning, Phyllis needed at least one cup of coffee before she could even consider dealing with Michael. She dropped her stuff at her desk, grabbed her mug, and headed to the kitchen.
She found Jim standing in front of the coffee maker. Actually, he wasn't exactly standing. He was bent in half at his waist, his forehead resting on the countertop.
"Jim?"
He stood up straight and looked at her sheepishly. "Hey."
"You must have had an exciting night," Phyllis said, smiling at him. "Did you do anything interesting?"
She was hoping he went to find Pam after she left so quickly yesterday. Maybe he found her and they talked. Maybe they shared a bottle of wine, which would explain his disheveled look today. Whatever it was, she wanted it to be with Pam.
"I passed out drunk on my couch last night," he explained.
"Oh, did you go out with friends?" Pam perhaps?
"No," Jim said, a little embarassed. "Just me. At home. Soooo...yeah."
"Oh, dear," Phyllis replied quietly. "Well, I have some aspirin in my drawer if you need it. It's always helpful when Michael is around."
She started to feel guilty again about yesterday and the dress. She never expected Dwight to say what he did, she never expected him to hit a nerve like that with both Pam and Jim. It was Dwight, after all. But she was the one who bought the dress and she was the one who didn't object when Jim brought up the idea of the prank.
Phyllis reached past Jim as he stirred his coffee in silence and poured herself a cup.
"Can I ask you something?" he said, his voice cracking a bit.
"Sure."
"You and Bob Vance seem so great together....How do you do that?"
She smiled warmly at Jim. Maybe she could push him just a little bit more. "Bob Vance is my best friend," she said. "Who's yours?"
Jim strugged his shoulders and stared down at his coffee. "Pam...I guess," he said quietly.
Phyllis took a deep breath. She thought again about Pam's red dress and almost stopped herself from saying what she was about to. But looking at Jim standing there in front of her, she could tell it was probably something he already knew.
"It seems like you and Karen have been working really hard on your relationship recently."
"Yeah, you could say that," he said, giving her a weak smile.
"Maybe the relationship you should be working on isn't the one you have with Karen."
There was silence in the kitchen for several seconds before Phyllis heard the door open behind her.
"Jimbo and Phyllisity!" she heard Michael bellow. "Ah, what secrets are you two sharing in here?"
"Just getting coffee," Jim said sarcastically as he headed for the door.
"Ah, yes. Have to get your caffeine so you're wide awake for the sales meeting today!" Michael said enthusiastically.
Phyllis rolled her eyes and followed Jim out the door. She wasn't about to tell Michael they needed the caffeine to stay awake during his boring sales meetings.
She also decided not to ask Jim about the bag of Hershey's Kisses she saw on Pam's desk this morning. He had enough on his mind already.
*** *** ***
"And finally, Mifflinites, how can we sell more paper?" Michael asked.
Phyllis looked around the room. No one was paying attention except for Dwight. "Maybe we need a motivation like a prize for the best sales person."
Michael gave him a surprised look. "Good idea, Dwight. So what would be a good prize?"
"Paint ball lessons," Dwight replied.
"Dinner somewhere, maybe."
"Ick. What are you, Ryan? A woman?" Michael replied. "Oh, that's it! Paint ball for the guys," he said in a macho voice, "and a romantic dinner for the ladies." Phyllis thought Michael's romantic voice was creepy. "Karen, if you win, you can take Jim, and Phyllis, you can take your husband. OK, if there isn't anything else..."
Wait a minute... "Um, actually Michael, can we change the rules a bit?" Phyllis asked.
Michael scowled at her. "Maybe. What do you want to change?"
"Well, I would like to have dinner with Jim, too."
Phyllis saw Karen shoot her an evil look, but Jim was giving her warm smile. "I like how you think, Mrs. Vance," he told her.
"Jim!" Karen spat.
"What?" he said innocently. "Either way, I get to have a free dinner with a beautiful woman so..." He turned and winked at Phyllis and she gave him a flirty smile back.
But Karen wasn't going to let this go. "Phyllis is a married woman."
"Oh, that's OK," she said lightly. "Bob Vance knows that Jim is a gentleman. Besides, Jim deserves a reward for all the work he's been doing as assistant regional manager. It'll be fun!"
Jim's eyebrows went up as he looked at Karen, giving her a pleading puppy dog look. "Fine," she said.
"OK, so it's settled!" Michael announced. "Whoever sells the most paper by the end of today wins the prizeses!"
Phyllis walked back to her desk with a smile on her face. She was pretty proud of coming up with her little plan so quickly. Now all she needed to do was win.
*** *** ***
Apparently, Phyllis underestimated her paper-selling skills. When all was said and done, she not won the contest, but had doubled Karen's total for the day. It probably helped that Pam had forwarded two new clients on to her even though she wasn't next on the list to answer a new client's call. She hoped Pam did that on purpose to help her out. If anything, it would make Phyllis believe Pam was more interested in Jim than she was letting on.
"Nice job today," Karen said as Phyllis got up to leave.
"You're a good competitor," she answered. It was the only compliment she could think of.
Phyllis excitedly walked over to Jim's desk. "Jim?"
"Yeah?" he said, smiling when he saw it was her.
"Are you available tomorrow night for that dinner?" she asked tentatively.
She noticed Jim glace quickly at Karen before looking back at her. "Actually, I am."
"Oh good!" she said. "So I made the reservation at Anthony's for 7 o'clock if that's alright."
"Sounds great! Um...am I supposed to pick you up or do you want me to just meet you there?"
"Oh, I'll just meet you there."
He gave her one of his trademark loopy smiles. "Sounds good. Oh, and make sure Bob Vance knows that I promise not to try any funny business tomorrow."
"Why not?" Phyllis said.
Jim gave her a surprised look. "Phyllis Lapin Vance," he said in a scolding voice.
She giggled. "I'll tell Bob you'll be on your best behavior."
"Thank you," Jim said. "I'll see you tomorrow then."
"Tomorrow."
"And Phyllis? You did a great job today. Congratulations." She could tell that when he said it, he really meant it -- even if she did beat his girlfriend out for the prize.
She walked over to the rack and grabbed her coat. After putting it on, she leaned over Pam's desk. "Pam?" she said in a whisper.
Pam rolled her chair closer to Phyllis. "Hey," she replied quietly.
"I just wanted to thank you for your help today. You know, with those new clients." Pam looked like she had just been caught breaking the law. "Oh, don't worry. I won't tell."
"It wouldn't have mattered anyway," Pam said. "You're really great at what you do."
Phyllis smiled. "Thanks, Pam."
"You're welcome. Have a good night."
"You, too."
Phyllis walked out, thinking about how exciting her date with Jim was going to be the next day. She couldn't wait to tell Bob Vance.
Chapter End Notes:
As far as I know, there isn't a restaurant in Scranton called Anthony's. I actually made it up and named it after St. Anthony of Padua , who is the saint you pray to when you need to find something you lost...like the woman you truly love or the friendship you had with a certain someone, for example. O, you know, if you can't find your keys in the morning.
