Jim yawned for what felt like the millionth time since the meeting had begun. He supposed he probably should have gleaned some understanding of the meeting’s purpose by now—especially given his “status” in the office—but he truly had no idea. Michael was currently recounting a story of the after-hours party at an out-of-town conference in which Todd Packer featured too heavily for anyone’s tastes, especially at…God, was it only 9:45?

He felt someone staring at him and looked first to Pam, who was drawing on her notepad. He then swung his gaze over to Karen to find that, not only had she been the starer, but she’d seen him look to Pam first. Bad move, Halpert, he mentally admonished himself, enduring a sizzling glare from his girlfriend. There would be a conversation tonight. Oh yes, there would definitely be a conversation. And as there had been a conversation last night, too, he knew he’d definitely need another cup of coffee as soon as the meeting let out.

Eventually, Michael realized he’d gotten so far off point that there was no regaining control of the topic, so he quoted Chris Rock and adjourned the meeting. Jim yawned again and stretched as he stood up. Karen was making her way out of the conference room, and he ran a hand down her arm as she passed. She shrugged it off. Definitely, a conversation.

Jim heard a giggle and realized he and Pam were the last ones in the room. “Something funny, Beesly?” he asked, giving her a tired look.

Her face fell a little, and sympathy slipped across it. “No. Sorry,” she said quickly. “You just looked so defeated and sad.”

“Right,” Jim nodded. “That would be pretty funny.”

“And cute,” Pam said, her eyes down.

“I’m sorry, what?” Jim asked brightly, now completely awake. “What was that? Something about ‘cute’?”

Pam tipped her head, confessing to her slip. She tried to keep the smile off her face, to hide how pleased she was to have the power to cheer him so quickly. “Yeah, Halpert. You heard me. And if you breathe a word—”

“I would never,” Jim said, feigning indignation over the very suggestion that he’d break her confidence. “I just…you know, I need to get back to my blog now—I mean desk! I mean, get back to my desk.” His eyes were twinkling, and Pam gasped with false betrayal. “Because I have paper to sell, and absolutely no intention of telling the entire internet that you think I’m cute.”

Pam was slightly pink now, which was, of course, completely adorable, and Jim’s smile became more relaxed as she walked quickly past him toward the door.

“Hey, Beesly,” he called after her retreating form, and she stopped with a hand on the door jamb and turned back, raising her eyebrows in lieu of answering. “I’ll send you a link when I get my blog updated.”

Pam raised her eyes dramatically before replying, “No link will be necessary. I have it in my favorites,” and Jim laughed as he watched her make her way back to reception. She smacked her hip on her desk rounding the corner too quickly, and now Jim definitely didn’t need coffee to keep him awake. He had plenty to invigorate his mind.

Several new emails awaited him when he returned to his desk. Most of them were forwards from Michael. The most recent was from Karen. It read simply, “We need to talk tonight.” He refrained from hanging his head in case she was watching him. He opened his mouth to yawn again, before replying, “Yes, we do.” He found himself looking at Pam as he hit Send.

At noon, he ate in his car, hoping to avoid getting into a discussion with Karen in the office. When he got back to his desk, he had a welcome email from MySpace. Clicking the link, he laughed when he saw his new blog, complete with a photo of himself that he remembered Pam having taken at Kevin’s birthday party last year. The first and only entry in the journal read, “Dear Diary, today Pam said I was cute. I’m all aflutter.” Underneath was a picture of a young Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer taking his first flight. The caption read, “She thinks I’m cuuuuuuude!”

He shot off a quick email to Pam: “Aflutter, Beesly? C'mon.” Then he got to work on her new MySpace account.

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