Pam could hardly wait for the next day at work. She had read his note again when she got home as she sat at her kitchen table, dressed in sweatpants, hair pulled up in a ponytail, the note on the table in front of her. How does she feel about pranks? She didn’t know quite how to take that, but she hoped that it was something they were going to do together. Pam stirred her tea and gazed aimlessly out the window. She felt weird. Wasn’t it unnatural to spend this much time thinking about a guy that you barely knew? Pam got up and went over to her stereo. She turned on some music and proceeded to clean her kitchen, hoping that if she kept busy she wouldn’t be alone with her thoughts.

When she lay down in bed later that night she tried to sleep, but all she could think of was the small, yellow post-it note that sat on her table and the potential of tomorrow.

Pam woke up early the next day. She quickly showered and then stood staring into her closet. One of these days, she thought, I am going to have to buy some new clothes. She finally selected a gray skirt and a light blue shirt, topping it off with a navy blue cardigan. She ran a comb through her naturally curly, reddish-brown hair and then pulled half of it up, securing it with a barrette. Then she looked at herself in the full-length mirror that hung on the back of her bedroom door. “Ugh…..” She muttered, taking one last look at herself before she went down the hall to the kitchen.

She made some tea and buttered a piece of toast and all the while she thought about his note. She sat down at the table and opened up a newspaper, but it was just words on a page and so she put it down again. It wasn’t like the note was really anything big, just a few friendly words from a co-worker. For all she knew he was like this with everyone. Before she knew it, it was time to leave for work. She slipped on her shoes, picked up her purse and went out to her car.

Pam’s heart leapt in her chest when she pulled into the Dunder Mifflin parking lot in time to see Jim climbing out of his car. He waved when he noticed her park in the spot next to him. She discreetly checked her hair in the mirror and then climbed out of the car.

“Hey!” he said, adjusting his messenger bag strap against his chest.

“Good morning.” She said pulling her coat tightly around her. It was a cold morning and she could see their breath lingering in the air.

Pam shrugged slightly, “I guess. I had nothing better to do.”

“Wow…Dunder Mifflin ranks above nothing. Impressive.” He flashed that great smile again and Pam felt her stomach flutter.

“I think you did.” Jim said with a smirk. “Come on. Let’s go. It’s freezing out here.”

Pam followed Jim towards the building, silently noting the way that he held the door open for her. He punched the button for the elevator and then turned to look at Pam.

“Oh. I’m really sorry to hear that.” he said genuinely.

“Thanks….” Pam said stepping into the elevator. “What about you? How long have you lived here.”

“Oh wow. You still live with your parents don’t you?” she asked.

Jim laughed loudly. “Luckily…no. I’m not Dwight.”

Pam smiled, trying to ignore the fact that their shoulders pressed up slightly against each other as he leaned forward to press the button. She opened her mouth to say something, when a hand appeared in between the closing elevator doors keeping them from closing.

“Jimbo and Pam....Pambo and Jim. What’s shake-a-lakin?” Michael said stepping into the elevator.

“Not much Michael. How are you doing?” Jim asked shooting Pam a glance that made her cover her mouth to stifle a laugh.

“Not really. Watched some baseball…went to bed pretty early.” Jim said stuffing his hands into his pockets.

“Grandpa….I am older than you and I had a hot date. What about you Pam?” Michael asked.

“I read this….” Pam started before Michael interrupted her.

Luckily they were saved by the ding of the elevator signaling that they had arrived at their floor.

“Oh…maybe some other time Michael.” Jim said as Michael hurried out of the elevator.

When Michael had disappeared into the office, Pam looked up at him and said, “He really does have the attention span of a five year-old doesn’t he?”

“Only on a good day.” Jim said with a laugh as he followed behind Pam into the office.

It was another mundane day; full of games of Solitaire mingled with phone calls and faxes. She was so absorbed in a game that she didn’t notice Jim come up and stand at her desk, his elbows resting comfortably on the counter.

“Want to see something cool?” he asked in a hushed voice.

“Definitely.” She said looking up at him.

“Ok good. Watch this.” He turned and went back to his desk. He began rifling through some papers for a few minutes before he turned to Dwight and said, “Hey…I misplaced my stapler. Could I borrow yours really quick?”

“Jim…how many times have I told you to keep track of your personal stuff. This is getting ridiculous. You ask for this almost every other day. One of these times…” Dwight froze, looking into his desk drawer. “DAMN IT Jim!” He yelled banging his fist on his desk.

“What?” Jim asked innocently.

Dwight reached into his drawer and grabbed something that Pam couldn’t really make out. “Stop putting my belongings in Jell-o. You are such a child.”

Dwight slammed a plate on his desk that was covered in a huge mound of lime green jell-o. Inside Pam could make out the outline of a black stapler. She burst out laughing, immediately covering her mouth with her hands when Dwight cast a glare her way.

“Dwight…you really think that I would be stupid enough to pull the same prank over on you twice? I think it’s a copy cat. If someone is brave enough to copy this idea…how long until they are copy much more….” Jim lowered his voice to a whisper. “…sensitive material?”

Dwight looked around suspiciously. “You’re right Jim. Tell no one that we have spoken.”

“Got it.” Jim waited until Dwight got up and walked off towards the break room before turning to look at Pam. She grinned at him and he held up his hand. Pam paused for a second before realizing what he was doing. She lifted her hand and they air high-fived before he turned back to his computer. Pam smiled at him for a few more moments before the phone rang, jarring her out of her thoughts.

She was sitting in the break room eating yogurt and reading a magazine when he walked in and went over the vending machine.

“So what did you think of that?” he asked quietly.

“Pranking Dwight 101.” He said with a shrug and a smile before walking back out into the office.

Around 2:00 Jim stood up and pulled on his suit jacket and grabbed his bag. He had a sales call to Wilkes-Barre and would be out the rest of the afternoon. He tapped his knuckles on the reception counter as he walked past.

“Try not to have too much fun while I’m gone.” He said grabbing his coat off the rack.

“It will be tough…” she blurted out, blushing slightly as soon as the words were out of her mouth. She took a deep breath and then said, “Hey…do you think that maybe we could go to lunch tomorrow? You know…as a thank you…for being so nice to me on my first days here.”

“It was just a fluke. Next week I’m going to be a total jerk.” Jim said with a smile. “Lunch huh? Sounds good, but only if it’s pizza.”

Pam smiled, “Pizza it is.”

“Alright then. See you tomorrow.” He waved and walked out the door.

Pam went around on cloud nine for the rest of the day. For the first time in her life she had actually executed something resembling courage. She was sure that someone like Jim wouldn’t even think twice about going to lunch with her. It probably would mean nothing to him, but for now she was excited.

Jim offered to drive the next day, saying that if she was paying for lunch the least he could do was drive, especially considering she had no idea how much he ate. They went to this local place called Cugino’s. They laughed and talked over a pepperoni and black olive pizza. She told him about her grandma and how she liked to draw. He talked about growing up in Scranton and his new niece. Pam loved the way that the conversation flowed so easily. She had never been this comfortable with anyone, except her family. They were talking about New York, Jim not believing that Pam lived so close and yet had never been there. She found herself thinking that this was the best date she had ever been on…even if it was just a lunch date. The cloud of euphoria that Pam found herself on quickly crumbled when she heard Jim say, “Yeah…my fiancé goes to New York all the time.”

“Your fiancé?” she managed to squeak out.

“Oh…” Pam felt like she had been slapped. He must have assumed that he had mentioned her before. Maybe he had and she had been so caught up with the silly crush in her head that she hadn’t heard it. “That’s really cool. When are you getting married?”

Jim cleared his throat and Pam wondered if she had stepped into something sensitive. “Sorry…I didn’t mean…to pry.” she whispered.

“No…it’s fine. It’s just kind of on hold for now…I mean…we’ve been engaged for a couple years actually. She is trying to focus on her career and…it’s just…” he trailed off.

A minute of semi-awkward silence passed before Pam decided to change the subject. “So…when do I get in on one of these Dwight pranks?” she asked, taking a sip of her Coke.

Jim smiled broadly, looking slightly relieved and said, “What do you have in mind?”

Pam tried to ignore the small ache that had started in her chest and began to write on her napkin. Too soon it was time for them to get back to the office. The rest of the day dragged on and Pam caught herself several times having to blink back tears of disappointment. When it finally reached five o’clock Jim walked out with her and waved before climbing into his car and driving away.