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JIM POV
“I’d love to talk to you about it more,” Ryan said.
“That’d be great,” Pam said sincerely. I hid a smile behind my hand. Score! Pam was going to be so excited about drawing this logo.
“So maybe we could discuss it over dinner?” Ryan said, in a voice I knew he thought sounded smooth. Oh, wow, did he just take the plunge? I didn’t see that coming. Although maybe I should have. Going from temp to boss, of course Ryan wanted to consolidate his victories by dating the hottest girl in the office.
“Oh…is it…” Pam said un-enthusiastically.
“Wear something nice,” Ryan said, not even waiting to hear her answer.
“No.”
I fought not to smile at Pam’s knee jerk reaction, because I knew she’d start fumbling immediately for other, better words to soften the blow of the rejection.
They both started sputtering, talking over each other until Pam just said it. “Uh, I’m dating Jim.”
“You’re kidding.”
Oh, ouch Ryan. That unbelievable is it?
I gave him a little wave, not bothering to look up. Far-fetched or not, City Boy, I got the girl.
I was staring at my computer, but now I was really listening, waiting to see if he was going to try to back out of his offer to let her sketch the new logo for Dunder-Mifflin Infinity. My bet was that Ryan was too much of a coward to go back on it now, even if he originally only made the suggestion to give him a chance to ask Pam out.
On the other hand, Ryan could be kind of a jerk too, so maybe he’d retract the offer anyway.
“So, um, let me look at these,” Ryan said, already fleeing.
“Yeah, great! That’d be great!” Pam said lamely, coming in at about an 8.5 on the Pam Beesly Embarrassment Meter, by my guess.
So Ryan looked like he was still going to give her a chance, but he could always retract from the safety of a corporate memo later on. Of course, now I was one step ahead of him, so... Poor Ryan. He always underestimated everyone but himself.
I did feel a twinge of indignation though. Connecting the logo offer to a date was just one small step from strong-arming Pam into going out with him using his new position at corporate. I began to toy with the idea of using a voice recorder to expose his attempts at improper use of authority. Although, he wouldn’t be likely to proposition any of the other women in the Scranton office. How to check on what he was doing at the other branches…
An IM popped up on my screen.
PBeesly: meet me on the roof after work?
JHalpert: you don’t have to explain about Ryan, if that’s what you’re after. I enjoyed watching him flee with his tail between his legs enough to wish I’d put him up to it myself ;-)
PBeesly:
PBeesly: Seriously, though, I didn’t know when he asked me to draw the logo that it was… um, whatever it was.
JHalpert: Probably it was just an afterthought, or he would have asked you out along with the original offer. Boy Howard seems like he’s part of the Instant Gratification generation.
I actually thought Ryan had been planning to ask her out all along, but I didn’t want his thinking with his dick to result in Pam having doubts about her talent as an artist.
PBeesly: I think you’ve got him pegged- come on, the Blackberries? The only person here who ever owned a Blackberry was Ryan and as Dwight is fond of pointing out, Ryan never made a sale with it.
PBeesly: Still want to meet you on the roof, though, ok?
JHalpert: Mmm. Is that the kind of invitation that means I should slip into something more comfortable ;-) ??
I had to look up then because I loved how sensual heat would flare in Pam’s eyes, but at the same time, she’d blush with embarrassment at her own reaction.
PBeesly: Invoking Rule 11
PBeesly signed off at 3:43pm.
I hid a smile. Not getting each other worked up with dirty IM’s was getting to be like fighting an addiction. Hence the invention of Rule 11- you must sign off at the first hint of arousal. Of course, this left me feeling smug every time I forced Pam to invoke Rule 11.
My record was eight Rule 11’s in a single day. It was hardly fair, as Pam was still a little shy about provoking me at work. Which she could do in less than two typed words. Or a single look. Come to think of it, maybe it was as fair as it needed to be.
I slanted a speculative look at reception, where Pam was pretending very hard that she was working and not watching me. I wondered exactly what was on the agenda for our rooftop meeting later.
Author's Chapter Notes:
I always thought it was a little odd that neither Jim or Pam appeared to be at all insecure in their relationship in Season 4, despite the baggage they had going into it. Also, that Jim had no visible reaction to his girlfriend getting asked out right in front of him, except that short, smug talking head. So here is something I wrote so that the characters could explain to me why they aren't having any problems with security or jealousy in their relationship.
