Pam sat in Michael’s office as he drabbled on and on in his usual nonsensical fashion about some embarrassing aspect of his personal life. She checked her watch constantly, worried that she was going to be late. She had told Michael days before and reminded him twice today that she needed to leave early for an appointment at her art school. The new classes she wanted to take required an interview and presentation of her portfolio. She was already nervous as it was and it didn’t help that Michael called her into his office five minutes before she had to leave. As the seconds ticked by, Pam’s stress level skyrocketed to unprecedented heights.

Jim sat impatiently at his desk, checking his watch every millisecond or so as he watched a trapped Pam in Michael’s office. A worried expression on his face paired itself with anxiously twitching feet. He knew Pam needed to leave five minutes ago, but Michael’s antics continued to keep her firmly in the clutches of Dunder-Mifflin, as opposed to letting her go to chase her dreams. The veritable hell of the paper company had already claimed his life; it didn’t need to take her as well. Needing to feel useful, he walks over to Pam’s desk and retrieved her purse from the drawer where he knew she kept it. Soon after, he found her portfolio safely stowed under her desk by her chair. He put both items on the couch flanking the coat rack and grabbed her coat. Draping her coat over his arm he headed towards Michael’s office. It was time to get her out of there.

He knocked lightly on the door before entering. “Sorry to interrupt, but there’s a problem in the warehouse and Darryl needs you to call him.” Jim tried to sound as believable as possible, given the fact he’s just fed Michael a load a crap. Pam’s face sprang to life as she realized Jim’s rescue efforts. As always, he was there to save her.

“What, now? Can’t Dwight take care of it?” Michael whined.

“I don’t know. He asked for you.” Jim’s tone had a slight air of desperation, almost pleading with Michael to take the bait. To Jim’s relief, Michael let out a frustrated breath before picking up the phone. “C’mon, Pam you’re going to be late,” he said, holding the door open for her.

Pam immediately stood and rushed out of Michael’s office. Jim followed close behind, “We better hurry. It won’t take long for him to figure it out.”

“I thought I’d never get out of there. Thank you,” she said as Jim helped her put on her jacket. She grabbed her belongings on the couch as soon as her hands shot out of the sleeves. She spun around and faced Jim, locking her eyes with his, “I don’t know what I’d do without you.” She smiled warmly, but the reality of time soon hit as she frantically tried to adjust and button her jacket. The task proved difficult with her hands full and jitters vibrating through her body. Jim hurriedly grabbed her scarf off the coat rack and gently hung it around her neck. He tucked the ends in her coat and took over buttoning her up.

“Jim, I can button . . . .” He put his finger on her lips to silence her.

“Just let me take care of you,” he said in a gentle voice. “All you need to do is relax.” A smile crept across her face and he followed suit. All he ever wanted to do was take care of her. For the last few months, he’d finally gotten his chance. Her appreciative and loving expression melted him into a pile of putty.

“I’m just so nervous.”

“Don’t be.” He reached up and lightly caressed the side of her face, “You gonna be great.” His lips met hers with soft kiss of encouragement. “You better get going.”

She gave him one more smile before taking her leave, “I’ll call you when it’s over.” He nodded as he watched her hurry out the door. Emerging from the small world that only he and Pam populated, he turned around still wearing a smitten grin. His mind remained adrift in a different world as he slowly strode towards his desk. The delirious haze of the previous moment cleared in just enough time for Jim to see 11 pairs of eyes staring at him with shocked expressions. His love struck face soon shifted to one of unabated horror. Everyone was looking at him. Everyone. The heat of embarrassment rushed to his cheeks and bit at his stomach.  Oh, shit, he thought as he searched for a place to avert his eyes. Months of secrecy suddenly became front page news. One hurried moment had bred total absent mindedness. He was kicking himself for being so careless. They had been caught red handed and there was nothing he could do about it except shove his hands in his pockets and find somewhere to look besides directly into prying eyes. He pressed his lips together almost forming a grin, but it couldn’t hide the embarrassment of having a huge secret revealed to everyone in the office. Desperate to find anywhere else to be, he headed towards the break room to find solace among the vending machines. By some stroke of luck he found himself alone to contemplate what had just happened. At this point, he couldn’t help but laugh at himself. How long did he seriously think they could keep it a secret? The goofy grin he’d been wearing on his face everyday should‘ve given them away on day one. Part of him knew people were probably talking months ago and were most likely taking bets on when he and Pam would hook up. Before he could ponder any further, he cell phone buzzed in his pocket with a new text message. He knew who it was from before he even looked. Surely, it had hit her by now.

Oops. J

Yup. Oops. We’ve been caught. J