Jim woke up suddenly when a crack of thunder rattled the lamp on the nightstand.  The steady drumming of the rain on the windows, unnoticed a moment ago, was now all he could hear.  He saw it was 6:15 am, ran his hand through his hair and sighed. “Definitely not falling back to sleep now.”  He mumbled to himself. He put on some music as he headed to the shower. He took his time getting ready. He had gotten into the habit of getting to work early, and usually, he was the first one there.  He figured that today he could just be ontime When he finished, he sat down to have a cup of coffee before he left. He glanced through the help wanted ads from yesterday's paper with no real goal in mind.  When he finished his coffee, he got up and threw the paper away before he left. 

When he arrived at work, he had barely sat down at his desk when Michael approached. 

“Hey, you have a big meeting with David Wallace today at 9 in the conference room.”  He smiled, clearly not telling him everything.

“What is it about?” Jim looked up to him and asked.

“You’ll just have to wait and see!”  Michael turned back and went back into his office before he could say anything else.  Jim rolled his eyes, and turned back to his screen. He turned back around when he noticed someone was sitting in Michael’s office.  Someone he hadn’t seen before.

“Hey Dwight, who is that in there with Michael?” he nodded in the direction before looking at him.

“New receptionist.  Haven’t been told her name.”  He glanced at the office and added, “Looks competent enough.”  He stopped what he was doing now and looked at him, “So, what’s this meeting with David about?”  His stare was a little distracting, Jim thought.

“I really don’t know, Dwight.  I just found out about it when Michael told me.” he rolled his eyes, “Excellent communication.’”

 He had barely enough time to read his emails before he had this surprise meeting.  He was a few minutes early because, well, you want to be waiting on the CFO, not the other way around. 

   Jim sat in the conference room waiting impatiently.  He had no idea what he would be meeting with the CFO for.  He tried to recount his most recent pranks to Dwight to see if maybe he was in trouble, but he quickly realized that Michael could handle that on his own. When another fifteen minutes went by, he began to nervously tap his foot.  He was startled when the phone rang on the table in front of him. He was never told if this meeting would be face-to-face or not, leave it up to Michael to leave out the details. So, he answered the phone as professionally as he could.

“Jim Halpert speaking”

“Hey Jim, David here.  How are you doing today?”

“Good David, how about you?”

“Good.  I’m just going to get right to it.  The company had its best year ever last year.  The stock price is at an all time high right now, so what we want to do is capitalize on it.  We don’t want to be complacent. You understand?”

“Yes, of course.” What did this have to do with him?  He was lost. 

“Exactly, Now the reason why I wanted to talk to you today was we wanted to offer you a promotion.”

His eyes opened wide with surprise, “Wow, that’s great.” but before he could finish, David continued.

“Ya, see when we spoke last month, you kind of opened my eyes to something.  You had mentioned that some of our advertising had become ‘stale’, I believe you put it?  Anyways, I ran this across the board, and it seemed to be a consensus that we need to revamp our image, so to speak. Do you follow me?”

“Yes, I follow you.” he quickly replied.

“Ok, great.  So, what we want to do is start a new division in the company that focuses on advertising and getting our brand out there.”  He paused “And we’d like you to run it.”  

He quickly replied, “Well, actually, I’d love to do that.  I actually went to school for advertising, so I think I can bring a lot to the table”

“Yes, I’m aware of that.  It was a big reason why we went with you.  Ok, so, we have been working out the details for a couple weeks now, and we believe that we can keep you in Scranton by using the annex in the back to be your work space.”

“Ok.” he nodded as he glanced around. 

“To give you a brief rundown of what we are expecting.  We are giving you a budget to get started, we were thinking about local advertising, primarily focusing on where each branch is located.”

Jim scrambled to get a pen and paper so he could take notes.  He cursed himself for not being prepared. 

“Try to find places that will make sense.  I don’t know if we’re talking billboards or bus stop ads or even print, but we’ll really give you creative control to start.  I don’t want to hinder you in any way since this a new division and all.”

“Ok, I think I can start from here.” 
“We understand that you can’t do this alone.  So, in the next couple months we are going to bring in some people that are going to be working under you.  Entry level mainly, but we believe under your leadership you can develop the team into something really great.” 

“Wow, ya David, this sounds great.  I look forward to it. So, when do I start?”

“Well, that’s the thing.  We are going to have to work on the logistics of everything.  We have to clear out the annex and get you the equipment you need to do the job.  We were thinking that by next week, we’ll have a clear understanding of everything.  In the meantime, we do want you to start right away. Since advertising is all about ideas, we figure there’s no time to waste.  The board has some ideas that we are going to send to you to guide you in the direction we were looking to go. So, you can start moving your things to the annex and help everyone else clear out of there.  Sound good?”

“Yes, of course.”

“From now on you’ll be reporting directly to me, but being in New York it might turn into a weekly thing.  I don’t know yet, but we’ll figure it out. For now, if you have any concerns you can just shoot me an email or call.  Although, email would probably be easiest. Whichever you like. Ok?”

“Yes, this sounds great.  I just like to thank you for giving me this opportunity.  I look forward to getting started.”

“That’s great.  Now we will be sending your contract and salary offer to HR for you to look over.  We’re confident that you’ll be happy with our offer, but if you have any concerns just let me know.  Oh, and one last thing. Toby should have a company credit card. I want you to take it and get a laptop and phone that’ll be strictly for your new job.  You will be required to travel periodically, I hope that won’t be a problem. We are in the process of getting you a company car as well.”

“No, that won’t be a problem at all.” 

“Ok, then, you know where you are starting off, I’ll let you go and we’ll catch up later this week.”

“Sounds good, David.  Thank you again.”

Before he could say anything else, David hung up.  Jim sat for a minute to take in what had just happened.  He wasn’t expecting a promotion. Now he was going to lead his own department and have people reporting to him. 

Just as he turned to open the door and begin clearing his desk, Michael appeared in front of him.

“Jimbo! Hey I heard of the promotion!  Congrats! I’d also like to introduce you to our new receptionist.  This is Pam Beesly!” Michael turned to introduce them. Pam smiled shyly and whispered a hello.

Jim returned the smile and introduced himself.  Before he could do anything more, Michael spoke up.

“Jim, would you mind showing Pam here around the office?  I have to get on a call with Jan about something and she said it was urgent.”

Jim glanced back at Pam as she had yet to make eye contact with him.  He knew he had to start clearing his desk and the annex, but he figured that could wait a bit.  So, he flashed his big smile,

“Sure Michael, I can do that.” 

“Great!”  Michael said as he headed back into his office. 

Jim returned his attention to the new receptionist “So, welcome to Dunder Mifflin.  I don’t know where you worked before here, but this is definitely going to be an experience.”  he let out a slight chuckle. She smiled but still hadn’t looked up at him, but he figured she was just nervous.  

“There’s really not much to show, but I’ll take you to the break room and annex.  Most of the sales staff are out on sales calls, so if you want, we can wait for introductions a bit later.” he said with a shrug.  She simply nodded and followed him into the annex.

“This is the annex, and well, I guess is my new work space.” He smiled as he looked around.

Toby and Kelly had already got the message that they would be moving to the main office and had already been clearing their desks.  Jim made quick introductions with them and Pam and showed her around before taking her back to reception.

“And that is the world of Dunder Mifflin Scranton.  The phones are pretty standard, but I’ll show you if you’d like.”  He was trying to get something out of her.  

She sat down and stared at the phone.

“Yes, actually, could you explain what I’ll be doing?” she quickly looked up at him before looking back at the phone.

“Of course, you’ll be answering calls from hopefully new clients. There is a salesman list there that you can transfer to in order.  Actually, you can scratch my name out since I am no longer part of sales.” He smiled proudly, but she barely responded.

After showing her the copier and setting up her email, he figured she would be able to manage.  

“Alright, Pam, I’m going to head back to my workspace, if you need anything, I’ll be right in the back.  Ok?”  

“Thank you, but I think I’ll be fine.”  she replied as she looked around her new desk.

“Fair enough, oh, and don’t let Michael get to you.  He can be a bit over the top, but he means well.” He looked over to Michael’s office. “Most of the time.”  He glanced back and he could have sworn he saw her laugh, it was quick but he was sure she did. He knocked a couple times on her desk and headed back to clear his.

As he began setting up the annex to his liking, Toby approached him.  “Hey Jim! Congrats on the promotion. Must be nice not having to answer to Michael anymore.”

Jim paused and looked up as a smile grew, “I don’t think I’m going to miss that.”  

“Oh, and here’s the card.  I don’t know what the limit is, but I can find out for you.”

Jim stared at the card in his hand before sliding it in his back pocket, “OK, thanks Toby.” 

Toby then leaned in and quietly said, “Hey, did you see the new receptionist?  She’s really cute.” 

Jim glanced up towards the office, “Ya, Toby, I guess she is.”  An awkward silence fell as Jim returned to his things.

Toby turned towards the door to leave, “Anyways, I’m going to go figure out where I sit now.”  

“OK, see ya.”  He replied without picking up his head.  And with that, he was alone in his new work space.  He wasn’t exactly sure exactly what he was going to be doing.  He figured he would wait for what corporate would send him and figure it out then.  When he realized he had nothing to do, he figured he’d head out and get his new laptop and phone.  He made his way to the front, but he couldn’t help himself from talking to Pam again. 

“Hey, I have to run out for a bit.  If anyone calls for me, I should be back in an hour.”  he said to her with a smile.

She looked up at him, “Are you expecting a call?”  

He laughed briefly, not expecting the question.  

“Uh, no.  I’m not.” he shrugged, “I just figured I should let someone know I was leaving.”

“Oh, Ok.   I will let no one know that you left.”  she actually smiled and looked at him now. 

The joke didn’t really land, but he was just glad to see her smile at him.

“Coming to life there, Beesly, is it?”  he pointed at her as he walked out. “I like it.”  

She smiled and shook her head before looking away.  

He returned just after noon and glanced at Pam, but she was on the phone.  He headed back to the annex and began setting up his new purchases. A short while later, he saw her walk into the break room.  He did his best to not stare. Instead, he strolled to the fridge and grabbed his lunch. 

“Want some company?” he asked with a smile.

“Sure.” She returned the smile as he sat down across from her.

“So, how’s your first day going?” 

“Not bad. Actually it’s kind of slow.”  She looked up at him, “Is it usually like this?”

“Um, sometimes.  I think it’s just because the sales staff is out of the office today.  Usually things seem more lively when they’re here.” he shrugged.

“So, what is it you do back here now?” she nodded towards the annex.

“I am running the new advertising department.”  He leaned into her and dropped his voice, “Honestly? I have no idea what I’m supposed to be doing.”  he leaned back and laughed. “David gave me the vaguest description of the job and told me to get started.”  He shook his head. “I was too excited, I didn’t ask any questions.”

They finished their lunch and sat and talked for awhile.  He could tell already that he liked her. He stayed away from personal questions since this was their first real conversation together.  He tried to give her a head’s up on what to expect working here, but left one detail a secret.

“What is it?  What is so weird with this Dwight guy?”  she had her hands up as she demanded.

He laughed,  “Oh, Dwight is something you need to experience in order to fully appreciate him.”  He nodded, “Trust me, you will thank me later.” He looked at her and smiled

“Oh god, now I’m scared.”  She replied as she laughed with him. 

Ten minutes later, Jim saw it all set up.  Dwight had returned from his sales call and was walking around the office looking for something.  He was about to finish his break with Pam, but figured he had to wait for this. 

Before she finished her sentence, Dwight burst into the room. 

“You are the new receptionist, correct?” He demanded

Clearly startled, she shyly replied, “Um, yes.  I’m Pam.”

She extended her hand, but instead of grabbing it, he shoved a stack of sales receipts in it. 

“I need these copied and collated by” he raised his arm and glanced at his watch, “2 pm.” 

He glared down at her now.  “That gives you 25 minutes. I have to be in carbondale by 3, so you can not be late.” 

Pam simply stared at Jim, mouth open, and laughed.  

“Wow, that had to have been Dwight.”  She said as Dwight walked out. 

As soon as he heard his name, he froze.  Walking back into the break room, he glared at Jim. 

“What have you been saying about me?”  he glanced back at Pam who was holding her hand to her mouth to try and hide her laughter.  

Dwight narrowed his eyes and spoke quietly.

“You are all ready conspiring with him?  Unbelievable.” Just then, he reached forward and snatched the papers back.

“This is a very important client.  I can’t risk losing them to one of your pranks.”  He glared back at Jim before walking out. 

Once Dwight was out of sight, Jim raised his hand and smiled.

“And that, my dear Pam, was Dwight.”

She shook her head, “Oh my god, what have I gotten myself into?”  She looked up at him with a smile. 

“Oh, you will find out soon enough.”  He said with a laugh as he walked out of the break room. 

She followed him out and stopped when he sat down.

“So what pranks was he talking about?” she cocked her head as she asked it.

“Oh” he smiled at her, “Mostly harmless, I swear.  I mean, technically we can consider what just happened as our first prank together on Dwight.”

She gave him a confused look to which he explained.

“See, he was so convinced that you and I were working together against him that he now probably won’t ask you to do much of anything for quite awhile.”  

He laughed, “We’ll just have to keep up appearances.”  

“Appearances?” she questioned

“Yeah, ya know.  Pass notes while looking in his direction.  Maybe stick something that looks like a bug to his phone.” he shrugged, “Things like that, just to keep the memory fresh.”  

She laughed and turned to walk out. “You’re horrible.” She said with a smile as she walked out the door.

“You’ll thank me later.  Trust me.” He yelled back.

     And just as he had hoped, they ate lunch every day from then on.  It was quickly becoming the highlight of his day. After the first month, she had even gotten into the habit of making random visits just to say hi.  And every time she did, he would drop whatever he was doing just so they could talk. 

“Oh, hey.”  She smiled as she entered the annex.

“Beesly, how’s your day?”  he said as he closed his laptop and turned to her. 

“Good, good.  I just needed a minute away from Michael.   He’s really high strung today.”  

Another day, another excuse.  He really wanted to tell her that she didn’t need to keep making excuses to come back there.  She was welcome any time, but that would just come out weird. So, for now, he would just play along. 

“Ouch.  I’m sure Jan is riding him again.  She’s under some heavy deadlines from what I’ve heard.”  

She shrugged and began to look around. 

“So, what are you working on today?”  

“It’s this new campaign I want to get started.  Trying to appeal to some higher level customers.  Ya know, law firms and stuff.” he sighed, “I have to go to New York on Thursday and Friday to pitch to the board.”  he shook his head, “They said they’d give me help but they haven’t done anything about it. I’m happy with the proposal, but if they make me start over again, I’m going to tell them I can’t do it alone.  It’s just too much.”  

“So, you won’t be here Thursday and Friday?”  

He could have swore she almost sounded as though she was pouting.

“No, I won’t, apparently it has to be done in person.”  he shook his head, “Whatever.”

“Awe, so who am I going to eat lunch with?”  

She actually was pouting now, and he was not expecting that. 

“Ya, I am not looking forward to it.  New York is nice and all, but sometimes it’s just too much.”
He shrugged.  “Well, feel free to come back here to escape from Micahel while I’m gone.”  He said with a laugh.  

“Oh, I plan on it.”  she said with a laugh as she walked out.