Eleven months later

"Dunder Mifflin, this is Pam."

Pam sighed as she forwarded the call. Ten months working as a receptionist with no end in sight had really dampened her outlook on life. After the initial meeting with Brian, she and Roy had done a formal audition at Brian's office. Well they had called it an audition. They had basically had a conversation with the team, before playing the newlyweds game and discussing a relationship timeline which wouldn't contradict what people already knew about them. Fortunately, Pam and Roy had been close friends since high school so they even had prom photos to back up the farce. A confidentiality agreement was signed at the end of the day, letting only immediate family in on the secret. Since then, she had moved in with Roy and started as the receptionist at Dunder Mifflin.

Every so often, Brian would update her on the status of the documentary, usually with a complaint about how difficult corporate was being about the filming contract. Twice, she sat down for a compatibility test with a prospective love interest but neither was chosen. It was now nearing the deadline that Brian had set for filming to start and they were still nowhere near. Not that Pam should be complaining. Pam and her sister, Penny, had used the bonus money to go to the Bahamas for a week. The house was obviously great too, even if Roy did live like a troll. She refused to even step foot into his room due to the mess and smell, but his cooking more than made up for it, so she was happy enough to do the washing up. Neither of them had ever had much success with long term relationships (one reason why they were chosen), so the domesticity was comforting, in a way.

Pam had another compatibility test scheduled for later that day. She hoped that this person would finally be who they were looking for, if not for the documentary, for her sanity. As entertaining as the members of the office might be to film, they were not entertaining to be around.

At the end of the day, Pam met Roy in the parking lot and he drove her to the production team's office.

"I'm gonna head over to Poor Richard's with the lads if that's okay," said Roy as they arrived. "Hope this one goes better. Hope he doesn't work his charm on you and tear you away from me," he joked.

Pam laughed. "I'm sure he'll have me swooning and he'll sweep me off my feet in no time. Watch out Roy!" She jumped down from the truck and walked into the building, waving briefly as he pulled out of the lot.

When Pam reached the office, there was already someone sitting in the room that the assistant led her into. He was quite average-looking, but he had a friendly face which made Pam feel at ease. He stood up (wow... he was very tall), and held out his hand.

"Hey, I'm Jim Halpert," he said with a smile.

"Pam Beesly," Pam replied, letting his hand encase her own. She felt weirdly flustered as he pulled out a chair for her to sit down.

A voice sounded out from a speaker in the corner of the room. "Okay, Jim and Pam, if you could just make some conversation for a bit, that'd be great. We'll be listening but just pretend we're not even here."

"Surely we'd act more naturally if they didn't just remind us that they're listening in," Jim muttered, making Pam giggle. She quickly stifled her laugh, before composing herself.

"So how did you get to be here?" she asked him.

"I was at college with Jenna, from the camera crew, and I had a bit of a reputation as a prankster and generally funny person, so I guess that's why she recommended me," he said, scratching his head. "Oh, and I was going to try out sales anyway. I guess that's also kinda important," he laughed.

"Wow, they're really accepting just anyone aren't they?" said Pam. Suddenly, she became panicked that she had crossed a line with this person she had just met, but Jim gave her a grin.

"I believe that was a self-burn too, if my sources are correct," he said.

Pam blushed. "Dammit, you caught me! I mean the list of amateur actors who want to be filmed doing an actual job is just never-ending," she said with a pitiful laugh.

Jim laughed with her. "So what hobbies do you have besides acting then?"

Pam burst into animated chatter about her art, and the conversation flowed freely from there. Two hours later, Brian opened the door, interrupting Jim's story about the prank war he had with his sister.

"Welcome aboard, Jim," Brian grinned.