“Jim, can you come in here please?” Michael called to his staff writer from inside his office. Glancing a desperate look toward Phyllis, who was not about to help him get out of it, Jim sighed and trudged into his boss’ office and sat down. Michael had an unusually stern look on his face, and it made Jim uneasy.
“What is it Michael?” he asked hesitantly.
Michael shook his head, “Jim, I have been getting a lot of calls… a lot o’ calls, my friend, and it’s not looking good for you.”
“What? Why?” Jim suddenly sat up straight, now worried it could be something serious.
“Look. I am your editor, your boss… your best friend…”
“Not my best friend.”
“Well, inner circle at least.”
“More like outer circle.”
“Jim Jim Jim,” Michael waved off the topic with his hand. “It’s not the time to split hairs with your bestest bud. The point is, you should be able to level with me, so I, in turn, can save your butt.” Jim squinted his eyes as Michael waited for enough dramatic tension to build up. Finally, Michael said slowly and clearly, “Do you think… that the Sixers and all their fans wanted Phyllis at that game on Friday?”
“Oh,” he responded, now realizing what his boss was talking about. Jim’s look of worry quickly transformed into a dismissive one as he pondered if he’d really get fired for missing one game. He sincerely doubted it.
Michael nodded and imitated him mockingly, “‘Oh.’ Yeah, oh. Oh, Jim. Blgehh…” He waved his hands around in the air and stuck his tongue out, and finally, realizing he wasn’t acting professional, cleared his throat and said firmly, “Look, the team obviously needs you, okay? You can’t just blow them off. Is that understood?”
“Yes, Michael.”
“And so from now until the end of the season, they want you at every home game, capiche?”
“What? Seriously? Every home game?”
“They sent over this contract this morning—” Michael pulled a small stack of papers from a file and handed it to him. “It specifies that you have to do this little high-five routine at the beginning of every home game, and that the players can go Buddha on you if they like—”
Jim raised an eyebrow at him, “‘Go Buddha’?”
“You know,” Michael shrugged like it was no big deal. “Like, rub your belly and stuff, for good luck! Geez Jim, do we need to do diversity training around here or what?” Jim rolled his eyes at his boss as he continued to explain the details of the contract, “Now they will pay you for all your trouble, and they’re willing to give you a whole mess of perks too, but we’ll need to make a call into them about the specifics… So, let me just get Pacman on the phone and we can work this thing out…”
Jim sighed and rested his chin in his hand as Michael dialed the number for Comcast-Spectacor, the company that owned the Sixers, and asked to be transferred to Todd Packer, their Press and Patron Relations rep. Packer was a real wine ‘em and dine ‘em kind of guy, always entertaining celebrities and giving them the special treatment when they came to town for an event, and was so high up in the company that it didn’t matter that he was crass and sexist. He and Michael shared that trait, which is why they got along swimmingly whenever they had to do business together.
“Pacman!” Michael cried out elatedly as he put the phone on speaker for Jim’s benefit.
“Hey you big queen!” Packer snidely responded. “Hey, what has two thumbs and likes to bone your mom?” He didn’t wait for Michael to guess before he answered his own riddle, “This guy!”
“Oh you are so bad! Yeah! Haha!” Michael laughed giddily, and then remembered his reason for calling. “Um, so Pacman, I have Jim Halpert sitting here with me—”
“Ohh, what’s up, Halpert? Still queer?” Packer asked through the speakerphone as Michael practically fell out of his chair from laughing so hard. Jim rolled his eyes as Packer continued, “Who knew we’d ever need a fag sitting courtside, right?”
Michael composed himself and tried to defend Jim’s honor, if for nothing else than because he desperately craved Jim’s friendship. “Now Packer, I won’t have you speak about Jim like that… even though he is going through a dry spell, it definitely doesn’t mean he’s gay…”
“It just means no woman would want to nail him!” Packer finished the sentence that Michael didn’t have to guts to say as Jim’s mouth showed a hint of a smirk about how wrong they were. He stopped smiling abruptly though, knowing he couldn’t let Michael see him making that face.
“Uh, Michael—” Jim cleared his throat and waved his hand to signal Michael to move the call along.
Michael pointed at Jim with a wry grin on his face and addressed Packer, “So let’s make a deal, my friend! What are you offering my young ward?”
“Well, despite my personal opinions of the guy, apparently Eddie, Freddy and Peter all seem to think we need him, and they’re willing to offer him a shit-ton of perks: he’ll get to sit right behind the team, he’ll get free food, jerseys, those big-ass foam fingers… whatever he wants.”
“Ooh, foam fingers, Jim…” Michael nodded his head convincingly.
“We’re also willing to offer him a guest seat,” Packer said, then chuckled, “Not that he’d have anyone to take besides his mommy—”
“Nonsense, Packer!” Michael objected. “He’s got his boss and best bud to take! Right Jim?”
“Oh, Michael, um…” Jim stammered, wondering how he could describe how quickly his love life had changed this past weekend. He knew though, that he couldn’t do it without having to tell him everything, and he wasn’t about to do that while Todd Packer was on the line. He tried to be as diplomatic as possible, concealing a smile as best he could, and cautiously explained, “I mean, I can take you one time maybe, but I was already thinking of… other people to take…”
“What are you saying, grasshopper?” Michael looked inquisitively at him, trying to read the undeniable joy on his face, and in a snap he figured it out. “Packer, let me call you back—”
“You and Jim gonna go make ou—” Packer’s vulgar inquiry was cut off by Michael disconnecting the call. He leaned forward in his chair and stared at Jim for a long minute before deciding to speak. By the way Jim squirmed in his seat, Michael was sure he had figured it out.
“I know that look,” he told Jim slyly as he leaned back in his chair. “I looked like that after Jan and I first kissed in the parking lot of a Chili’s.” Jim’s dreamlike smile faded as Michael asked deviously, “So, dry spell over, is it?”
“Michael—”
“Come on, who’s the lucky girl?”
“I don’t think—”
“Oh! Is that why you weren’t at the game?? Ohhh, man!! Way to go, big dog! Big dog got it dog-style!”
“Oh God,” Jim sighed and shielded his eyes as Michael did a jubilant, yet overly explicit dance in his chair.
“Well forget me, man,” Michael concluded. “You go ahead and take her, cause you know I ain’t doin that for ya at the end of the night! Yeah, baby! Woo!!” Unable to bear the humiliation anymore, Jim got out of his chair unexcused and headed for the door as Michael suggested, “Hey, maybe you guys would want to come over for dinner sometime—”
“I don’t think she’d be able to handle it,” he replied as he made his way out of his boss’ office, shutting the door behind him. He let out a heavy sigh and glanced at Phyllis, who was typing diligently, but obviously restraining herself from being too gossipy. He sat down in his chair with a thud, exhaled heavily, and told her with a small smile, “Thanks, by the way, for covering for me on Friday. It was worth missing a game for.”
Phyllis smiled a coy, yet motherly smile at him, and told him, “I’m glad.”
… … …
“Pam, can you come in here please?” Ryan asked as Pam passed by his office, almost spilling the cup of tea in her hand. She and Ryan hadn’t talked since their encounter at the party, and she was nervous about how he would reprimand her for the stunt she pulled.
She quietly took a seat and looked down at the mug in her hands. She couldn’t bear to look at the firm glare on Ryan’s face, and so she kept her eyes lowered as she asked, “So… what did you want to see me about?”
“Pam…” Ryan leaned back in his chair and looked off into the distance. “I have been over it in my head a hundred times, and I still can’t figure out what possessed you to set me up with Kelly.”
“Oh.”
“I mean, is it that I’m a bad boss, Pam? Do I not lead you all in a manner that gets the job done and gets the word about exhibits and events out to the public?”
Pam stammered, unsure what to say, “Well—yes, you do do that—”
“Then what is it?” Ryan asked, genuinely curious. “Is this just an issue with you? A… ‘woman trouble’?”
“Ugh, no, Ryan…” she made a disgusted face and shook her head, mortified her boss was even asking her these questions. “It’s just…”
Ryan cocked his head to the side and gave her what was supposed to be a comforting smile, “Come on. Out with it.”
“You just…” Pam stopped, wondering if she could tell her boss exactly what she thought of him: that he was pompous and belittling, and while he offered raises left and right, he never took the time to even tell his employees, ‘good job.’ It sometimes made her feel like doing the job wasn’t worth it, and so she set him up with Kelly just to annoy him just the way he annoys her.
Pam looked up wide-eyed at her boss, who was waiting on an explanation, and knew she had to lie. “I just thought you and Kelly would enjoy each other’s company. Really, that’s all I meant it to be… and I know she can be a little clingy and talkative—”
Ryan scoffed, “Yeah, a little—”
“But I just thought you were both social and both interesting people, and I thought it would work out…”
“Well,” Ryan sighed and leaned back. “You were right about that. By the end of the night, things ended up working out really well.”
“What?” Pam asked, sitting straight up.
“Yeah, I mean, you’re right, she’s a lot to take, but…” he picked up a large stack of envelopes. “Those patrons loved her! We made more on that Preview Party than we have on any other event.”
Pam was impressed, but after seeing Kelly’s charm on Friday, it didn’t surprise her much. “Wow,” she responded.
“And… the two of us actually hit it off after we left as well,” Ryan said with a hint of a suggestive smirk, which made Pam inwardly shudder in disgust. So much for calling your BFF after something monumental happens… not that she’d be intrigued in the slightest about any of the details.
“Oh…” she said, shifting uncomfortably in her seat. ‘Well… good.”
“It is good,” Ryan affirmed. “And, she told me the most interesting stories about you as well…”
Her face flushed as she thought about all the embarrassing things from her childhood that Kelly could’ve told him, and she bit her lip slightly as she asked, “Oh… really?”
“I didn’t know you wore glasses.”
“Yeah… I wear contacts now, so I really only wear them at night.”
“And you used to spend lunches in the art room?”
“Well, it was nice and quiet in there… No one around to bother me…”
“Kelly said it made you a loser.”
Thanks Kelly, she thought, silently fuming.
“Uh, not to her though—” Ryan quickly clarified. “She just said, in general, people… Uh, but she also said you would always help her with color schemes when she would design her own clothes,” he said with a smile.
This softened her expression, “Um, yeah, she did… she thought I was some kind of expert or something.”
“Well…” Ryan started in, Pam wondering if this would finally be the day she got some verbal praise form her boss. “Enough of this chitchat. You have some photos from the party to load onto our patrons’ page.”
“Right,” Pam sighed.
“Don’t forget to send a copy to The Inquirer,” he reminded her, and her face immediately brightened.
“Oh, I won’t,” she told him, her smile beaming, and he dismissed her from his office. She sat down at her desk, taking a sip of her now lukewarm tea, and opened the email from the photographer of Friday night’s party. As she scrolled through photo after photo of wealthy patrons, pondering which ones to highlight on the website, she stopped abruptly at one of them.
The photographer had snapped a candid of Kelly, Jim, and herself from later in the evening, when everyone had had plenty to drink. Kelly was tipping her glass to her and Jim with an open-mouthed smile while Pam was desperately hanging onto Jim’s shoulders. It looked like she had just slipped and almost fell, but he had caught her in the nick of time. She barely remembered the moment herself, but it made her smile all the same. She grinned even wider when she saw the look in his eyes, as he gazed at her sloppy and drunken behavior.
It was beyond a doubt a loving look.
She then realized what he had let slip Friday was the truth, that he was in love with her, and instead of her feeling scared that things were moving too fast too soon or that he didn’t know enough about her to be in love, she felt exhilarated.
Everything from Friday night onward had felt so right that she didn’t even feel the need to question it. Their day in the park was amazing, full of comfortable silences as Jim people-watched and Pam sketched, and full of laughter to help her feel better about her breakup that had occurred not a few hours earlier. They had spent the rest of the weekend together, growing more comfortable and tender with each other.
Maybe, she thought to herself, this could be…
She stopped herself there though, knowing it was too soon to think anything like that. But the way their relationship was going, she knew she’d be able to think it soon enough.
Pam sighed dreamily and clicked ‘compose message’ on her email, addressing it to jhalpert@phillynews.com, and immediately attached the photo.
Thought you might enjoy making fun of me for this. When the heck did I slip?? Think I should submit it to the Arts and Entertainment section? ;)
She hit send and began biting on her nails, hoping he would be at his desk to give a quick reply. She busied herself with picking out photos of the most generous patrons and attaching them to the email to Carol Stills, the society columnist of The Inquirer, when she heard a ding signaling a new message:
I don’t know if you know this Beesly, but you are one klutzy drunk. You fell several times that night and it’s a good thing I drove. And go ahead and submit it to Carol. I dare you.
Pam scrunched up her face at his reply. She was stuck. She couldn’t possibly turn down a dare, so she took another glance at the photo. She didn’t look too idiotic, she supposed, and it was a fun photo overall.
She included it at the last minute and hit ‘send’ before she could change her mind.
… … …
Jim stepped out of the elevator onto the twelfth floor and into the Arts and Entertainment section. It had been months since he was last up there, running an errand for Michael, but since Michael had broken up with the department’s society columnist, everyone in the sports section was trying to avoid everything art. That was going to be a considerably tougher job for Jim now that Pam was in the picture.
He made his way through the cubicles and finally arrived at Carol Stills’ door. He inhaled deeply before knocking, trying to remember to breathe, and told himself he’d be fine. She seemed like a reasonable enough woman, even if she had been involved in that debacle with Michael, so he was fairly confident about asking for a favor.
“Come in,” she called, and when he stepped in the door he could tell she was trying to maintain a friendly face. “Jim. What can I do for you?”
Jim took a seat and rested one of his hands against his chin. “Well, I was wondering about your article on Reverberations—”
“Oh, right. Well as you know, the press saw it on Saturday, and it was just lovely. The colors were so vibrant…” A small smile spread across her face. “But, I don’t need to tell you how beautiful the art was, do I?”
He laughed, “Pam sent you that photo?”
“Oh yes she did,” Carol grinned. “It’s one of the better ones, actually, and I think it would be good for your image if we used it.”
“My image?”
“Well, you know…” she gestured with her hands. “You’ll look more… accessible. It shows people that you’re not all about sports.”
Jim chuckled nervously, “It might upset a few Sixers fans…”
“Oh please, name one Sixers fan that reads the Arts and Entertainment section.” Jim thought for a moment and surprisingly couldn’t think of anyone. Not even himself, unless he was looking up movie times. Carol continued, “It’s all up to my editor of course, but if you want it in then we’ll keep it.”
“Oh, I want it in. I was the one who dared Pam to send it to you.”
Carol gave him the same look that Phyllis had given him earlier, “You two seem pretty friendly with each other…”
“Well…” Jim leaned back in his chair, a smirk on his lips. “We’re kind of… dating.”
“Congratulations! That’s great.”
“Thanks,” Jim chuckled. “You know, I don’t know why I was so worried talking to you about this. I guess Michael… colors my judgment.”
Her smile fell for a moment before she waved off his concern with her hand, “Well, what happened between Michael and I shouldn’t affect everyone else in our departments. I’m always happy to help, especially if you’re dating Pam. She’s a lovely girl.”
“Yeah, she’s really… great,” he replied, his eyes gazing off into the distance.
“Well, can I ask you to do something for me now?”
“Sure,” Jim was shaken from his daydream and leaned forward, awaiting instruction.
Carol turned her computer screen so it faced him, the photo displayed in full view, “Who’s this on the right holding her drink up? If we can get her approval to use it then it can go in the column.”
Jim smiled, excited his plan actually had a chance of working out, and he wondered how he’d ever be able to keep it a secret from Pam until it was published.
… … …
Sure enough, the photo showed up in The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Sunday edition, with a caption and everything:
“Lucky he was there! Philly’s personal good luck charm, Jim Halpert, takes a night off from sports and attends Reverberations with girlfriend and PAFA website manager, Pam Beesly (left), and owner of Knit Wit, Kelly Kapoor.”
Now, their relationship was official.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Sorry I haven't been updating as quickly! My vacation really got in the way of the creative juices, but luckily I'm out of that funk now. As for this chapter, I have pretty much no idea where it came from. I sat down, started writing, and this came out. I'm really happy with it though, and it helps me work in more of what I want to work in later on.
Of course, a big thanks to EmilyHalpert is in order, because I'm sure my writing would be way confusing without her rephrases. Also a shout-out to my ladies in Philly NanReg and iwantphillyjim, who are helping me out with my next chapter. Enjoy!!
Of course, a big thanks to EmilyHalpert is in order, because I'm sure my writing would be way confusing without her rephrases. Also a shout-out to my ladies in Philly NanReg and iwantphillyjim, who are helping me out with my next chapter. Enjoy!!
Chapter End Notes:
Next up, date #2!! Thanks for reading!!
