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She sat at her desk, watching Stanley and his wife dancing in the corner of the room by the Christmas tree. Their bodies were close, and Stanley’s wife leaned close to his ear and whispered something, and then a laugh erupted from Stanley and bellowed throughout the crowded room. It was the first time Phyllis had ever seen Stanley smile. A smirk danced across her lips for a moment, then she looked down at her hands that were folded in her lap. She wished so desperately that she could have someone who made her smile like that.

“Roy,” she heard Pam say over at the reception desk, “are you ever going to dance with me?”

“In a minute baby, just let me throw back a few shots with the guys first.”

Phyllis glanced over at Pam and saw the grimace and eye roll that were directed at Roy. As usual, Roy ignored her and went off to drink with his buddies from the warehouse. Pam crossed her arms and shook her head, then her eyes instantly went to Jim. Phyllis had observed Jim looking almost as miserable as her for most of the party, just sitting on the couch and watching Pam and Roy. But the second that Roy had deserted Pam, he of course brightened and waved to Pam when their eyes had locked. He walked over to the reception desk and started working his charm, and there was that smile again. The smile that had never graced Phyllis’s face.

Phyllis sighed. She put an elbow on her desk and rested her head in her hand. She heard raucous laughter behind her and she cringed. It was that awful Packer man with the mistletoe hanging on his crotch. She felt him bump into her chair, and then she cringed again as his alcohol-tainted breath wafted her way when he slurred, “Exsqueeze me, I don’t believe we’ve met.” He shoved his crotch in Phyllis’s face and she held up her hand as a shield. “Oh, come on! You know you want it!”

“No, thank you,” she said quietly.

“Hey, your loss, sweetheart! It’s probably the only dick you’ll ever see!” He laughed disgustingly and continued, “You are one ugly broad. Even after 20 shots of vodka you’d still be the ugliest damn bitch I’ve ever seen!” He laughed again, and then to her relief, he finally walked away and started groping Meredith, and to Phyllis’s disgust, Meredith really didn’t seem to mind.

Phyllis sighed again and spotted Oscar, Toby, and Creed playing poker in the break room. Angela was standing in front of the window and glaring at them with her arms crossed. She took the party planning so seriously that she just couldn’t stand them having their own little party. Phyllis chuckled, taking a small pleasure in Angela’s annoyance. Then Kevin and his fiancé drifted into her eye line, and once again she saw that smile. She instantly looked away when she felt that familiar pang in her chest. She saw Dwight following Kelly around the office with a creepy grin on his face… Kelly actually looked a little bit frightened by him.

The office was so full of life… and love. Everyone was there, and everyone was actually having fun for once (besides Kelly). But among all the bustle there was one face missing. Usually he was obnoxiously in everyone’s business, or making a fool of himself on the dance floor. That night though, he had been noticeably absent.

Phyllis got up from her chair and grabbed two shot glasses, then filled both with vodka. She walked over to Michael’s office and found him sitting at his desk with his head in his hands. The Santa hat that he had been wearing all week was on the floor by the trash can. Phyllis slowly walked over to his desk and put down the shot glass, then slid it to him. She heard him sniffle as he wiped his nose, and he looked up at her with wet, red eyes.

“I thought maybe you could use a drink,” she said with a polite smile as she sat down in the chair in front of his desk.

“Thanks,” he whispered with a grateful smile, and downed the alcohol. He wiped his eyes and looked at Phyllis. “So, why aren’t you out there living it up with everyone else?”

Phyllis shrugged her shoulders and asked, “Why aren’t you?”

He laughed bitterly and said, “Because no one cares…”

“What do you mean?” she asked innocently. Michael stared at Phyllis as he struggled to find what he thought would be the right answer. Phyllis was tired of his nonsensical speeches and his fake philosophies. She just wanted a real moment with Michael Scott for once in her life, so she said, “Don’t think about it, just answer me honestly.”

Michael opened and closed his mouth, then looked away from her. He took a deep breath and said quietly, “No one cares… about me.” He looked back at Phyllis and shrugged. “Everybody out there has somebody. They have a reason to get up in the morning. They care about more than just paper…”

“So do you, Michael,” Phyllis said, touched by how closely Michael’s feelings resembled her own. She wanted to make him feel better. She didn’t know if it was the sincerity in his eyes, or the tears, but for some reason she just felt connected to him. “You run Dunder-Mifflin. We all count on you to guide us through our workday. It takes an important man to do that.”

Michael was silent for a moment, then he chuckled and said, “You’re right, Phyllis. You’re exactly right. These people would be lost without me. I… heroically feed them my knowledge each and every day. They’d be starving if it weren’t for me.”

Phyllis sighed inwardly when the Michael she was so familiar with had resurfaced. But then something happened. A wide smile had suddenly appeared on Michael’s face, one of those smiles that she had been so jealous to see on everyone else that night, but on Michael it drove her wild. She was the one who had had the power to make him smile like that. Phyllis may prefer thinking that it was just the alcohol that had caused a warmth to shoot through her body and intoxicate her mind, but she knew the truth. When Michael rose from his chair, as did she, and he walked around his desk to take her hand in his, and when her eyes focused on nothing but his lips as he whispered his words of thanks, and when they inexplicably leaned toward each other slowly, his breath searing her skin the closer he got to her, and when she felt an electric shock shoot through her body as their lips finally touched, and when she could taste the mixture of vodka and Doritos on his tongue, she knew deep down that it had definitely not been the alcohol.

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It had happened during a moment of weakness…