Jim was somewhat amazed that the office party in Ryan's honor had actually been like a party from a normal office. People ate some food, chatted a bit, then went home.
Of course, for Dunder-Mifflin Scranton, the only office Jim had really been a part of, this made it a strange day. He would never have guessed that Michael would remain so restrained, and seemed to actually be accepting Ryan's position.
Jim, Ryan and Pam were hanging outside the exit to the building, about to leave for the day. Pam looked at Ryan and grinned broadly. "It was great seeing you. Thanks again for thinking of me for the web design training. I think I'd like to try it out, if the offer's still good." Pam looked down nervously, breaking Jim's heart just a bit. He had been amazed by her growth in the past year, but he knew she still needed some convincing about how amazing she was.
"The offer still stands. I'll send you more information when I have it. And it was great seeing you too," Ryan said. To both Ryan and Jim's surprise, Pam gave Ryan a quick hug.
To Jim's amazement, he saw Ryan blush a little bit as he stepped away.
Jim turned to Pam. "If you don't mind, Ryan and I are going to go grab a beer. Unless you..." Jim motioned a bit toward the car.
"No, you guys go," Pam told him, then turned to Ryan. "Please, do some male bonding with this one. He went with me last week to get a manicure, which got me a bit worried."
"You told me my hands looked even sexier than usual, I think," Jim teased her.
"Well, they were quite soft..." Then they remembered they weren't alone, and it was Pam's turn to blush. Jim just smiled, not really caring that Ryan could hear them openly flirting. He figured now was not the time to start being embarrassed about openly showing his feelings for Pam.
"I'll see you tomorrow. Bye, Ryan!" Pam gave Jim a quick kiss on the cheek and then waved at the both of them.
Ryan and Jim stared at each other a bit awkwardly. Ryan finally broke the silence, saying, "So, Halpert-six weeks in and you're getting manicures together? That was a joke, right?"
"I'll just say I like to keep my beauty secrets to myself," Jim told him seriously.
Jim liked keeping Ryan a little off balance. The truth was, he had let Pam give him a quasi manicure with some random spa products she had bought at a party Kelly was hosting. Pam had told him she had always liked his hands, and wanted to treat them right. Jim didn't argue with her.
"So, I'll meet you over there in a few?"
"Yeah, see you at Poor Richard's."
Jim was in strangely good spirits, and he wasn't completely sure why. He had been a little frustrated with his previous conversation with Pam about the future and his choices, but their little bit of banter in the parking lot raised his spirits back up. It was amazing how a brief exchange with her could always be such a balm to his soul.
He was also really thrilled at how happy she seemed at the prospect of learning web design. He couldn't really relate to her specific dreams of doing something artistic, but he thought that made him admire her all the more. At least one of them should get fulfilment from their career, after all.
Jim pulled in right after Ryan, and they walked into the bar and sat down at a table. The waitress promptly came over and they each ordered a beer.
Their drinks arrived, and they sat there in silence for several minutes, drinking their beers. Jim decided that getting this drink together as guys was a much better idea in theory. There likely was a reason they had never done this before.
"So, I feel totally caught up on your life in New York," Jim said. Ryan looked a little put out.
Jim again remembered the somewhat lonely tone of voice Ryan had been using on the phone the day before, and decided to make an effort. The guy was clearly craving some companionship.
And he himself was here for some reason as well, so he might as well ease the tension. "Okay, seriously, how are things going for you?"
Ryan set down his drink, and looked thoughtful. "Different for sure. It was something of a fast ascension. But, I figure if you dive right in you'll adjust less painfully than going slowly."
Jim nodded, and took a sip of his beer. "Well, you've definitely done that. Do you like living in the City?"
Ryan shrugged. "It's all right. Still getting settled. I kind of miss seeing people from business school."
Jim could relate to how moving messed up the social routines. He had never gotten back into the flow with his old roommate or any of his old friends when he had returned to Scranton. He wasn't sure why that was, other than that he seemed to have cut himself off from about anything that used to make him happy.
He would have to give Mark a call, and see if they could set up a poker night or something.
"Yeah, moving can be tough at first," Jim told him. Jim signaled the waitress to bring two more beers.
Ryan spoke next. "So, glad things worked out with you and Pam."
Jim shot him a bit of a strange look, as the words sounded odd coming from Ryan. It was almost as if Ryan had actually noticed or cared about them before, which Jim was not really sure was the case.
"Yeah, me too. Hope it stays that way," Jim said, and then quickly wished he hadn't.
"What do you mean? Trouble in paradise?"
Jim sighed. He took a sip of his drink, contemplating how much he wanted to share. He wasn't sure if the beer was loosening him up, or if he wanted a neutral party to talk to. But he suddenly felt like talking.
"Not trouble exactly. You actually instigated our favorite discussion: Did Jim throw his career away and will he someday regret it?"
Ryan clearly was surprised that Jim was opening up. Jim wasn't really enjoying putting Ryan off balance now, but was just feeling compelled to share with someone. And it was hard to share with Pam because they were still feeling their way through so much of the hurt and pain they'd caused each other.
"How did I start that discussion?" Ryan asked, not following Jim's line of thought.
"Well, when you offered her the web design opportunity and she hedged, I tried to convince her. Which somehow brought the conversation back around to me and my hopes and dreams."
"And given that you don't have any...." Ryan said. Jim felt a little stung to hear it put so bluntly.
Jim decided to brush it off. "Exactly. She's the one with actual dreams. Plus, I pretty much spent the majority of my career here with the goal of being around her."
"It was pretty pathetic there for awhile," Ryan told him.
"Wow. Thanks for the brutal honesty there Ryan. I definitely liked you better as the Temp." Jim took another swig of his beer.
Then they both laughed, the tension easing a bit. Jim wasn't even sure why he was laughing. Probably because what Ryan saw as pathetic, Jim saw as devoted and romantic. It was all about perspective, he guessed.
"Seriously, the thing now is that I do feel a bit restless at work. I don't covet your job, but I keep thinking maybe I don't want to be here forever. I think I pinned down my problem. I am happy to be with Pam, I really am. I used to wake up every morning and feel happy about going to work because I knew I would get to see her and make her laugh."
"Again, a bit pathetic, Halpert," Ryan interjected, albeit good-naturedly.
"Perhaps, but that kept me making all those paper sales that alluded you."
"Touche," Ryan said, polishing off his beer. Ryan ordered a couple more for them.
"Anyhow, now the problem is that I do get to see her outside of work. I don't have to go to the office to see her anymore, in fact I get more quality time with her when we're not there. So, I've lost a bit of my motivation for getting out of bed in the morning."
"I'll bet you have," Ryan said.
"Thanks, Michael."
Ryan shrugged and laughed. Jim figured he was getting loosened up by the beer. Jim certainly was.
"As I was saying, part of what Pam says is definitely true. I am coming to see that maybe being with her isn't the only thing in life. Apparently, I'm just not good at multitasking, and so I could only focus on her before. I wouldn't trade being with her for anything, but maybe it's time to look for something I'm more invested in as far as my job goes."
Ryan suddenly beamed at him. "That's what I was hoping you'd say!" Jim felt a little nervous.
"This isn't a pyramid scheme, is it?"
"No, this is serious. It might not be a right now thing, but I have a little proposition for you."
"I keep telling you, I am with Pam. And Kevin is my thing on the side," Jim said, trying to figure out where Ryan was going with this. Somehow a gay relationship with Kevin was always a good fallback line.
"I, unlike you, actually do have a dream. I want to own my own business," Ryan told him sincerely.
"That's great. And, what exactly does that have to do with me?" Jim was still a bit confused.
"Hear me out, okay man?"
"Sure, go on. I am all ears." Jim leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms.
"After talking with you off and on lately, I've come to a realization: We are completely different people."
"Wow. You know, there's really no good response to that."
Ryan continued on like Jim hadn't spoken. "Basically, I have the strengths you lack. Namely, the education, ambition and ideas."
Again, Jim bristled a bit. The truth really did hurt, it seemed. He decided to refrain from comment, getting an inkling that of what Ryan was trying to convey.
"However, as you may have witnessed during my stint as a salesman, I am not great with people. I'm not innately charming the way you are. I generally don't do a good of persuading people to my line of thinking. But you are. That's why you're a great salesman. You put people at ease, and read them well. You then use the information you get to manipulate people."
"And this is a good thing? You are really making me blush here." Jim was a bit flustered, as he had never really thought of himself as manipulative before.
"I don't mean it in a bad way. But it's how you can get Dwight to participate in reading Michael's screenplay. It's how you can convince Michael change Pam's Dundie award," Ryan said, building a bit of steam.
"You knew about that?"
"Yeah, Michael made me come up with ideas for better awards that wouldn't be lazy."
Ryan took a breath, and continued on. "Whenever I get my plan up and running, I want you to work with me."
Jim had suspected this is where things were heading, but he was still left a bit dumbstruck. He didn't really think Ryan even liked him all that much.
"I don't know..."
"I know we're not great friends. But really, that's better for business anyhow. It's not necessarily personal. But I think we'd make a great partnership. You could take the meetings to get investors and build up a client base, as we know you would be great at it. And I'd take you in as a partner, so you would actually be invested in what you are selling."
"I do really appreciate you thinking of me. I just don't know what to say right now. What sort of company would it be anyhow?" Ryan then looked hesitant.
"What kind of company would I be out trying to get investors for?" Jim asked again.
"Okay, I know you're going to laugh."
"What? Seriously, we sell paper for a living and you think I'll laugh."
"Yeah, I....want to start a temp agency."
Jim did laugh heartily at that, and Ryan joined him.
"Wow. Talk about going full circle, huh?"
Ryan shrugged. "I was taking your old advice to me in deciding what I would want to start a business in. And really, I would be selling myself. And I had quite the meteoric rise as a temp-from temp to executive in three years. I figured that would be my selling point."
Jim had to give the guy credit-it didn't sound totally crazy.
"What would you really be needing from me? We're selling you, remember?"
"I have some potential investors in mind through some contacts I've made over the past few years. And we need businesses to sign on. And lots of other things that will come up. Nothing's set yet, but I am completely serious about doing this a year or two from now."
Jim had to laugh again. It all seemed so crazy. He wanted to brush off Ryan's bravado to the beer, but he knew he was deadly serious. And Jim couldn't help but be a little excited and intrigued at the thought, even if it would be a huge risk.
"I'll definitely think abou it. Let's just say that we'll talk about this again six months from now, and maybe discuss more specifics," Jim told him.
Ryan nodded, and held out his hand. "I look forward to it," he told him. They shook on it.
Jim lifted up his glass. "I think a toast is in order," he said.
Ryan lifted his as well, and said, "To change."
Jim nodded, and clinked his glass to Ryan's.
"To change," Jim said in agreement.
Author's Chapter Notes:
This is it. Thanks to everyone who has been following it. It's been great getting reviews-it's helped me keep plugging away on this little first time venture.
Chapter End 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.
