"I’ve been trying to be more honest lately, and I just need to say a few things."
Everyone is staring at her. She fidgets a bit, but her nervous smile remains.
"First of all, it really sucked to sit on the sidelines and watch you all have fun today. It's like I was invisible to most of you." She looks around and her gaze falls on Jim. She steps in front of him.
"So I had a lot of time to think, and I realized it's kind of been that way for a while."
Jim looks petrified. Angela glances over at him, disapprovingly.
"Jim, I just wanted to tell you I am sorry for what happened last year. I wasn't honest with you. You didn't misinterpret anything. And I just needed you to know, even though you're over it and we're not even friends anymore. But I do owe you a thank you, because you kept me from making the biggest mistake of my life. So... thanks."
Jim just stares, and then nervously looks around at the group. Karen sits next to him, her expression unreadable. Pam turns to Michael, who is surprisingly quiet. She says, "I'd like to give you my two week notice. I have been thinking about it for a while, and... well, I just need to start over." She can tell Michael is starting to get emotional, so she quickly adds, "Please understand it has nothing to do with you as a boss... I mean, you're not even going to be my boss for much longer anyway. So, um, it's totally a personal decision." He just nods mutely.
Pam smiles and backs away from the circle. "So, uh, I guess I'll see everyone on the bus." She quickly walks away from them before her emotions get the better of her. She heads over toward the other fire, which is mostly just embers now.
"Pam!"
She turns and sees that Jim has followed her.
"What the hell was that about?" he demands, more harshly than she expected.
"It was an apology and a thank you, Jim."
He looks at her for a second, and blinks. "Why now?"
She sighs and stares off into the dying fire. "Because I had to tell you so I could move on. So it didn't keep eating away at me. So I didn't keep hoping that I actually had a chance..." She trails off, then decides to continue, because she was being brave and honest and all that. "I can't watch you with her anymore, knowing that it could have been me and I blew it. It kills me every single day, and I can't do it anymore, and I can't pretend it doesn't bother me."
Several long agonizing moments of silence follow.
"You don't have to quit," he says, almost too quietly for her to hear.
"What?"
"I'll go. So you don't have to." She looks up. "David Wallace called me and asked if I would be interested in interviewing for the position. You know, the one Michael thinks he has in the bag. I think I am going to go for it. Karen wants to move to New York anyway and..." He stops himself when he sees her face fall. "Just don't quit. Not unless you have something else lined up. Please."
She looks away and doesn't answer.
-----
It is Tuesday morning. Pam is busy scouring monster.com for job postings. After a unusually pleasant talk with Michael, she had decided to postpone her resignation until she actually had another job. She had no idea it would be this hard to find one. She didn't really want to get another receptionist job, but she found little else that she would be qualified for. So in the week and a half since she had decided to leave, she had sent out eight applications and gotten zero responses.
So now she spends all her free time looking for a job. She hasn't spoken to Jim or even looked him in the eye since their conversation at the beach.
Today he is in New York, with Karen and Michael. Through some series of events the details of which Pam didn't know, Karen had also applied for the job. Yesterday Jim and Karen left early to go up to the city to spend the night, since their interviews were early in the morning and it was a two and a half hour drive. As per company policy, they had separate rooms at the hotel, but that knowledge brings Pam no comfort. She is trying to move on, but so far she hasn't been very successful. Instead of helping her heal, her confession has made everything so much worse. Every day is torture, and she silently prays that Jim gets the job so it will be over soon.
Michael, however, is certain the job is his. As a result of the survivor game, he has made Dwight the acting regional manager. Dwight is being a militant ass about it, and is walking around taking notes on what everyone is doing. She knows he plans to fire Andy as soon as the position is officially his. She kind of feels bad about that because Andy has actually been nice to her since her outburst at the beach, even though she knows his motivations are suspect.
The day passes slowly, and Pam is frustrated with her lack of success job-hunting. At one point she goes into the bathroom to cry, but Creed is in there, which creeps her out, so she leaves. She decides to take a break from her job search and concentrate on sodoku for a while.
-----
In New York, Jim waits in the waiting room, sitting next to Michael, who has not forgiven him for applying for the same job. They don't speak.
Jim and Karen had had a nice enough time the evening before. Or so he thought. But she seemed distant and preoccupied this morning when he knocked on her door. He thinks she is mad at him for actually staying in his company-paid room instead of with her in hers. He had told her he was tired and wanted to rest up for the interview. He could tell she didn't believe him.
Now she is in being interviewed. Michael and Jim had already had their turn, and Jim thinks it went well. But as he looks around at this polished waiting room, picturing himself working here, a sense of dread fills his stomach. This isn't what he wants.
And Michael, as if he can read Jim's thoughts, suddenly verbalizes them. "Do you really want to work here?" He asks the question almost distractedly, as if he is wondering the same thing for himself.
"No," Jim says simply.
"Yeah, me neither," Michael replies, with a sigh. They exchange a glance and a half smile.
"You belong with Pam, you know."
Jim is taken aback. He doesn't say anything for a minute and then replies, "Yeah. I know."
-----
Pam is not sure why she is staying late, especially after the hellish day Dwight put everyone through while instituting his new regime. By this point it is six o' clock, and even Dwight has left for the day. The office is empty, although she suspects the camera crew may be somewhere out back, packing up.
She decides to visit the ladies room before she leaves. When she comes back, she is surprised to see Jim, at his desk, placing his stuff into a box.
She struggles to say something. "So... the interview went well?"
He smiles. "Yeah. They offered me the job."
"Oh, that's great," she says, but she's not sure if she means it and she silently reminds herself about her new honesty policy, feeling conflicted.
"Yeah, well... I turned it down."
"What?" She is genuinely surprised. And confused.
He takes the box and places it on his old desk, the one that has sat empty for the past several months. He turns toward her, but doesn't look her in the eye.
"I just... I couldn't do it. I don't know what I was thinking. I guess I had convinced myself a long time ago that you didn't feel the same way, and I didn't want to believe you, at the beach. I'm sorry, Pam. I'm so sorry. I've treated you horribly."
She feels the tears welling up in her eyes, but she doesn't try to wipe them.
He is choked up. "I understand if you say no, but Pam... please give me another chance."
She steps into his arms as they embrace. Now she is crying for real. Neither says anything for a minute, as they hold each other, in the same spot where they had kissed almost exactly one year ago. Then she pulls away slightly and says, "I love you."
He leans down and kisses her softly, pausing only to murmur, "I've always loved you, Pam."
Soon the kissing progresses from soft and gentle to something more. They are not sure how long they had been standing there making out, when Jim says, "Maybe we should go somewhere and talk."
She smiles. "Okay," she says, as she grabs his tie and leads him toward the conference room.
He laughs. "Not exactly what I had in mind... but it'll do."
She closes the door and draws the blinds shut.
-----
Dwight has forgotten his itemized list of personnel and procedural changes on his desk. He knows it is late but he needs to make sure his presentation to Michael is perfect in the morning. There can be no mistakes on his first day. He needs Angela to double check the accounting section, and she doesn't like to stay at his farmhouse past 10:00 because she disapproves of Mose's nightly bedtime ritual and doesn't want to witness it.
He is just picking up the report when he hears a noise coming from the conference room. Sounds like... giggling? No, it can't be. He reprimands himself for leaving his pepper spray and nunchucks in his Trans-Am. He picks up some scissors, and kicks open the conference room door with one of his best karate moves.
He is unprepared for what he sees. There is much commotion as Jim stands up and Pam scurries under the table, clutching her removed shirt to her chest. Jim is standing before him, shirtless, pants unzipped, and red with embarrassment.
"Um, oh hey Dwight, Pam and I were just... playing strip poker," Jim says, but Dwight takes pause. Something about his story doesn't add up.
"Where... are the cards?" he asks, slowly.
Jim opens his mouth to speak but Pam appears out from under the table, her shirt now on but unbuttoned as she holds it closed.
"Dwight," she begins.
"Don't try to get out of this one. I know what you were doing, and it is grounds for immediate termination according to the employee manual page 120, section 2..."
"Oh, just shut up," Pam blurts out, sternly. Dwight and Jim both stare at her.
"You know you've done the exact same thing with Angela in the office so don't you even try to pull that crap on us. I will be your worst nightmare if you even breathe a peep about this to anyone."
Both men are dumbfounded for a moment, then Dwight nods and starts to leave, but stops himself to say to Jim, with disgust, "Put a shirt on."
Jim and Pam both wait until they hear the main door shut before they turn to each other and start to laugh. They were both extremely mortified and sort of amused at the turn of events. Jim finally says, "You knew about Dwight and Angela?"
"Oh, yeah, for like a year and a half. How did you find out?"
"A year and a half! My God, Beesly, what else have you been keeping from me? I just found out like a month ago."
She laughs. "I guess we have a lot of catching up to do."
"Yeah. Maybe we should have done that before... you know..."
They giggle, both embarrassed and giddy, and then he grabs her hand.
"Let's get out of here."
Story Notes:
Spoilers aplenty! This is just my wishful thinking on what happens in Beach Games and The Job, based on episode descriptions and promos.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Chapter End Notes:
I know the ending would never actually happen on the show, but that's why this is fanfic. :)
And what became of Karen, one may ask? Draw your own conclusions - she stays in Scranton, she moves to NYC, she joins the circus, I don't even care anymore.
ExtremelyGruntled is the author of 20 other stories.
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