“Pamalama-ding-dong.”

Pam looked up from her game of free cell and offered Andy a polite smile, watching as he leaned up against the counter at reception.

“Listen. You’re cute. There’s no getting around it.”

Her smile started to slowly fall. Was he hitting on her?

“So…I don’t know if you like country music?” Pam started to shake her head ‘no’, but he continued on despite her not answering. “But I was thinking maybe one of these days we could drive out to a field, crank up some tunes, smoke a few macanudos... maybe even toss a disc around.”

Pam didn’t even blink, thinking if she did, he might take it as a sign of acceptance. Her mouth gaped open every so slightly, hoping he was finished. What was she supposed to say to that?

“Atwhay oday ouyay inkthay, Ampay?”

Her mouth formed a small ‘o’ of amazement. “Wow. I…”

“Shh!” Andy hurried to quiet her, holding one finger in her face. “Think about it,” he whispered. “I’ll hit you back.”

She sat perfectly still as he walked away, nudging Jim ever so slightly on the arm as he passed him. Jim…

Pam felt as though someone had just set off fireworks in her belly. Out of everyone in the office, Jim was pranking her. Not Karen, not Dwight, not Michael. Her. He’d never done that before. It had always been the two of them against the world. The thought of challenging Jim and showing him what she was made of made her tingle with excitement. The wheels began to spin and she ducked her head to avoid meeting Jim’s eyes as he spun slowly in his chair to see her reaction.

She typed furiously at her computer, a wicked grin forming on her lips. Two could play at that game.

***

“Hey,” Karen sighed, leaning to rest on Jim’s desk, her arms folded over her chest. “You busy?”

“Not at all,” Jim answered, sitting back in his chair and gazing up at her. She really was beautiful. Her short bangs framed her thin face and her olive complexion made her dark eyes all the more mysterious. He smiled up at her and enjoyed the way she couldn’t help but beam back at him. It really was that easy to make her happy, he realized.

“I’ve been swamped all day,” Karen said wearily. “I can’t believe you haven’t been busy.”

Jim bit back the truth that was waiting on his tongue. He actually did have work to do, he just hadn’t been busy doing it. He was too pre-occupied with other things, like pranks and Pam and ringless fingers and red folders. Guilt began to creep into his gut.

“You sound like you could use a break. Want to grab a drink in the break room?”

“It can’t be too long. I’m waiting on a sales call. But…sure. You buy.”

“Of course. I am the man, after all.” Jim grinned good-naturedly, knowing how fiercely independent Karen was.

She made a face and socked him lightly in the arm. “I’ll just follow behind you, my big strong man.” She waved her hands daintily in front of her face and affected a strong Southern accent.

Jim laughed loudly, turning with an expression of admiration. “You do that a little too well, Filappelli.”

“Gone With the Wind was my favorite movie,” Karen explained, loving that he stopped to allow her to step in stride beside him. “I can Scarlett O’Hara with the best of them.”

“Interesting. I never knew that about you.”

Karen looped her arm through his, feeling him tense in surprise. “There’s a lot you don’t know about me, Halpert.”

“Is that so?” He stopped short when they walked into the break room, seeing that it wasn’t empty. Karen let go of his arm and smiled warmly over at Pam, who was casually eating her cup of yogurt, a folded newspaper in front of her.

“Hey Pam. Taking a break too?”

Pam looked up, her eyes widening for a split second when she saw the two of them. “Yeah. Just doing a little Sudoku.”

“I could never get into that,” Karen told her, pulling up a chair. “So how are you doing after Michael’s announcement this morning?”

Pam started to cough, piquing Jim’s interest. “What announcement?”

Karen stared at him. “You didn’t hear? Earlier, Michael told the office pretty much how Pam and her husband are separated. It was horrible.” She turned to Pam and shook her head sympathetically. “I don’t know how you didn’t deck him.”

Pam swallowed thickly. “Oh, um. It’s Michael. I’m used to it.”

“Still,” Karen continued. “Someone needs to let him know when he crosses the line.”

“Maybe next time,” Pam offered weakly, looking at Jim briefly.

Karen’s head tilted at an odd angle. “Is that my extension?” She paused. “Dammit. I’ll be right back.” She hurried through the door and back into the office.

Jim took her seat and gave Pam a knowing look. “So.”

Pam just smiled sadly. “It was bad. Roy was dropping off my mail and Kelly overheard him saying he wants me back home and Michael overheard Kelly and now the office knows everything.”

He winced. “Wow. How are you handling it?”

“Well,” Pam started, fiddling with the pencil in her hand. “Angela has called me a statistic in the growing percentage of failed marriages in America. Creed asked me if he heard about Peg getting a divorce. And Kelly has already offered to hook me up with three of her friends, who are all totally amazingly awesome. I think that just about covers it.”

Jim let out a low whistle. “Kelly might have to take a number for her gentleman callers.”

Pam narrowed her eyes. “Why’s that?”

He leaned in. “Andy seems to have developed quite the crush on you, Miss Beesly.”

“The new guy?” She started to blush. “You think? I mean, he came by earlier and kind of asked me out, but I didn’t know he was seriously interested.”

Pam made a contemplative noise in the back of her throat and wet her lips with her tongue. She knew Jim thought he was being so clever. He was just waiting for her to bust him for telling Andy the exact wrong advice when it came to winning Pam over. She wasn’t going to let him off the hook that easily.

Jim frowned as Pam went back to her puzzle. “What was that?” he couldn’t stop himself from asking.

“What was what?” Pam asked innocently.

“That noise you just made. You’re not actually considering…” He shook his head as if to help her answer along.

Pam shrugged. “I don’t know.”

Jim felt his bones liquefy. “You’re kidding me?”

“He’s cute,” Pam decided. “In a preppy way. And if he’s interested, why not see what he has to offer, right? I mean, I’m single now.”

His mouth opened, then closed. Opened, then closed again. She could hear the breath hissing out from between his clenched teeth.

“Tuna! There you are. I’ve been looking for ya, my aquatic amigo.”

Jim barely registered his arrival. He sat like a stone, frozen to the spot.

“I made some plans for tonight that I wanted to run by you.”

“Plans?” He echoed

“First, I thought we’d hit this Bar-B-Q joint Pam told me about. Chopped, chipped or sliced, they have it all.”

Jim started to shake his head, but Andy pressed on.

“Then there’s a semi-professional tennis match being played at the high school. I scored some tickets a few weeks ago. Its gonna be awes. Then to finish out the night, there’s this hip-hop club downtown that has some killer tunes. It’ll be off the hi-zook!”

“Wait. What?” Jim didn’t make any attempt to disguise his confusion.

“What time do you want to get this party started? Hey, maybe we could invite Michael? I didn’t know how close you two were ‘til Pam here told me. I have some pretty good tips on how to get in good with him.”

“Pam told you…” Jim cast her a questioning look. When he saw the grin on her face, he knew he’d been had.

“Its okay, Tuna. I know you had your heart set on us working out, but…We talked it out and we’re just gonna be friends. But me and you? We are picking up some chicks tonight! You can be my wingman. Andy and the Tuna. Ah-Ah-Ah-Andy and the Tuna. Pick you up at seven?” He slapped Jim on the back soundly before sauntering back into the office, leaving Jim and Pam alone.

His head slowly started to bob up and down. “Nicely done.” He performed an impromptu slow clap, unable to stop the chuckles that escaped his throat.

Pam took a mock bow. “Thank you very much.”

Jim’s face turned a distinct shade of red and his mouth couldn’t stop from grinning. “Just friends, huh?”

“It was a hard sell, but luckily I had someone to throw under the bus and take the hit for me.”

“I thought you were going to see what he had to offer,” Jim repeated her words, still in disbelief that she played him so perfectly. “I thought he was, like, so cute.”

“Come on,” Pam protested, giggling. “You have to know me better than that.”

“Oh, I think I proved that already,” Jim countered.

Pam bit her bottom lip and shook in silent laughter. “Yeah, the Pig Latin was a nice touch. How do you remember that?”

Karen watched from outside the door as they rolled in laughter together, their hands millimeters apart. At one point, Pam even grabbed his hand and rolled her fingers over his palm, sending a flash of jealousy searing down Karen’s spine.

She didn’t know what was coming over her. This was not an appropriate reaction, this surge of envy because her boyfriend had a close female friend at work. She was a woman that didn’t need a man’s undivided attention because he almost certainly never had all of hers either. She was driven through work, she was independent socially and she was loyal through and through. Men loved that about her. Karen Filappelli wasn’t clingy. She wasn’t naggy. She wasn’t jealous. And she had never ever been wrecked over a man. They came and they went and she kept moving. That was just her way.

But Jim was different. She had fallen into a self-made trap with him. She knew he was damaged and needed time. She knew he had wounds she couldn’t see. But it was supposed to be her that he turned to when he was ready. When he finally let loose and let down the wall he kept so impossibly guarded, it was supposed to be her on the other side of the glass with him.

She refused to stand there and watch them any longer. Nothing if not proactive, Karen found the will to push her hand flat against the door and open it quietly.

“Am I interrupting something?”

Her clear voice broke through their obvious enjoyment of each other’s company, shattering their private sanctuary. Jim reared back instantly and hopped up, offering her the seat he’d taken. “Not at all.”

She chose to stand, feeling decidedly more in control that way. Jim’s face was flushed scarlet and Pam had to force the disappointment off her face when she saw Karen in the room.

“It was nothing,” Pam said, trying for a breezy tone of voice. “I was just getting Jim back for playing a prank on me today.”

“Prank? What kind of prank?” She directed her focus on Jim, watching him squirm.

“I, uh, tried to set her up with Andy.”

Karen didn’t understand the humor. In fact, given Pam’s recent marital troubles, it seemed downright cruel, but she didn’t say anything.

“Andy? As in, Andy Bernand Andy?”

“It was just a prank,” Jim relayed stiffly. “One that Pam saw through quite easily.”

Pam snickered. “It wasn’t that hard to see through when the poor guy is up there asking me out in Pig Latin.”

Karen felt a lump form in her throat. “I-I don’t get it.”

“I mentioned to Jim last year that I hated Pig Latin. So it was pretty obvious he had given Andy ‘advice’ on how to ask me out.”

“Oh.” Karen was flustered. She turned to Jim, anger sparking her eyes. Anger at being left out, anger at him for knowing such a trivial detail about another woman, anger at herself for being one of those women.

Pam cleared her throat. “I’m going to finish this puzzle back at my desk.” She quietly exited, leaving Karen standing with her hands on her hips and her lips in a tight line.

“Hey,” Jim took a step closer, running his hand up her arm. He was intuitive to notice that she wasn’t happy but she still wanted to shrug him off and tell him not to do that, that he can’t fix things that easily. But she welcomed his touch. She started to melt under his warmth. God, she really didn’t want to be this woman. “It was just a joke. We took it a little far.”

“You’re different here.”

Her voice was small. Jim pulled away and she missed him.

“What do you mean?”

“You’re different here than you were in Stamford.”

“Is that a bad thing?”

Karen bit her lip.

“No. Not really.” She couldn’t find the words to explain it. The overwhelming sense of dread that suddenly came over her. “Just different. You were so serious back in Connecticut. You were driven. You had…goals.”

“Come on, Karen.” Jim licked his lips. “We played around in Stamford too. We spent an entire day hunting down your potato chips. We messed with Andy. We played video games. It wasn’t all work, all the time.”

She found herself weakening. “You’re right.” She sighed unhappily. “I guess…I was just a part of it back in Stamford. Its weird being on the outside looking in.”

“I didn’t mean to leave you out. I just didn’t think.” He cringed, hoping she wouldn’t take that the wrong way, the way he intended. I just didn’t think about you. 

Karen tried another tactic to discuss what was really going on with her. “You and Pam are pretty close, it looks like. You must know her well to be able to give Andy the exact wrong advice.” Her lips quirked into a half smile, but her watchful eyes told more to the story. “You never mentioned her.”

Jim didn’t say anything. He didn’t trust himself to speak. Not about Pam.

“Did she tell you about separating with her husband?”

She watched as Jim grew fidgety, giving her an answer before the words came out of his mouth. “She mentioned it over coffee, I guess.”

You guess, Karen smarted inwardly, her paranoia growing like wildfire in her belly. “That’s just really strange to me. No one else in the office seemed to know. But she told you.”

Jim’s head dropped, like a child being scolded. “Look. When they were dating, when they had problems, Pam would come to me sometimes, to talk. We were friends. We’re friends. That’s it. That’s all.”

“Okay.” Karen reached her hand out and rested her palm on his heart, feeling the thundering beneath her fingertips. “This is me letting it go.”

“Thank you.”

He wanted to look into her eyes and see that she believed him. She couldn’t give him what he wanted, which was only fair. He couldn’t give her what she wanted either.