A few weeks of persisting with the job search down, Pam finally felt like she had some great prospects in the works. Jim had assisted her with making a pro and con list for each potential job and the companies. Was the commute awful? Would she start at an intern level and have to work her way up even at age 29? Was the pay more or less than working at a regular minimum wage job? Was it more or less than her receptionist position had been? These were all questions that made Pam slowly narrow her list down. The museum downtown required specific museum coursework. The art gallery near Nay Aug park only wanted someone part time. The cherry on top of the first exhausting week of job searching had been mistaking typing the wrong city into her computer’s search bar and seeing three openings total for an entire city. Once she’d realized her mistake, she was able to laugh, but thought it was too bad for the art scene there.

While she wasn’t trying to be too picky in her job search, she also wanted to ensure that she was making the best choice for herself and not settling for any old job. She’d spent quite a bit of time going with options that “made sense” and were financially responsible. Yet, she’d never been happy. After a few years in the workforce, she’d come to learn that if she was strategic enough in the search, she could find something that gave her the best of all worlds.

Her list from ten lowered to three as different locations were ruled out for other reasons. Those top three would stay as her plan A. The middle four would be her plan B. Leaving the remaining three to plan C. Pam was trying to stay optimistic with her top choices, deciding that she would only look to the remaining options if nothing else worked out.

Jim had stayed up with her each night mapping her plan out. When she’d gotten overwhelmed, he'd brewed her chamomile tea to relax, rubbed her shoulders, and had given her numerous pep talks. The thought that she didn’t deserve him ran through her head many times as he stayed upbeat for her.

On a chilly, Tuesday morning in mid-November, Pam woke up with Jim, saw him off to work, and started on the chores. Looking at the calendar she realized it had been a month since she had been fired. She smiled to herself. She’d overcome a lot in a short time and the feeling of resilience was overwhelming. The chores continued throughout the morning until she was interrupted by the phone ringing.

Jumping at the sound, she picked it up. “Hello?” She began cheerfully. “Yes, this is Pam.” 

Her lips rose into an elated smile. The first choice for her job search wanted to interview her tomorrow afternoon if she was available.

They asked her to bring her resume in so they could review it in person with her.

She made notes about the hiring manager and answered the questions that regarded her work experience and education as filtering questions before hanging up the phone.

As soon as she pressed the end button she jumped around her apartment excitedly, turning up the radio, and sang into the broom. She was stoked for Jim to get home where she could share the good news.

When he walked through the door a few hours later, she was waiting expectantly in her mini foyer. As soon as the key went into the lock she started jumping up and down, feeling giddy like a child at Christmas. 

Before he’d gotten the door closed, she’d thrown herself at him, kissing him hard.

She could feel his body tense with surprise, but melt soon thereafter.

She pulled back and looked up into his bright eyes that she was positive matched hers.

“Hi.” she breathed out. She loved the way he smiled and laughed around her and his response this time was no surprise.

“To what do I owe the pleasure of you greeting me like this? Can I continue to expect this level of service each time I walk through the door?” He smirked at her as she playfully smacked him on the shoulder.

“Service? Hmm, seems like the wrong angle, Halpert.” She smirked back in response.

He chuckled, setting his bag on the floor now that she’d given him the space to do so and pulled her back into his arms.

“Guess what happened today?” She began, but continued before he could answer, “The gallery downtown, you know the one that was my first choice…” She gestured at him as he nodded, “They need a design coordinator and called me! They want to interview me!” She practically squealed and leapt into his embrace again.

His animation matched hers as he held her shoulders and beamed back down at her. 

“Pam! That’s amazing! I told you were qualified! Who was right?” He looked at her questioning.

“Okay, listen...yes you were right this time, but it’s not that we knew…”

“I knew, you just didn’t believe me” Jim interrupted.

“BUT IT’S NOT THAT WE KNEW,” she repeated louder this time, eliciting a laugh from Jim as she emphasized her last point before she’s been interrupted, “that I would even be qualified for this. I’m just thrilled someone even wants to take a look at me being all washed up.”

“You’re 29, you have a few more good years in you before you’re washed up.” Jim joked in response. “But seriously, I’m so happy for you. If anyone deserves this, it’s you.”

She pulled him in tightly again before leading him to the kitchen to make dinner.

***

The next morning after Jim had left for work and she’d finished making breakfast, Pam began ironing a set of interview clothes while her resumes finished printing in her spare room.

Her interview was scheduled for 1:00pm so she had some free time to prepare for the interview, review her resume, and get her nerves pulled together before walking into the gallery.

She recalled back to her interview at Dunder Mifflin years ago when it had just been a reason to make ends meet while she found herself the more permanent role she’d envisioned for herself. She thought back to what those feelings were that day. She remembered her emotions running rampant and the interview adrenaline coursing through her body. What she couldn’t place now was the eerily calmness she felt today. When she’d gone through the interview at Dunder Mifflin, she’d felt sick before her interview, blaming bad eggs, but in reality knew it was the sadness in the pit of her stomach of feeling like she was settling and would never work her dream job.

Even if she didn’t get the role she wanted today, she was well aware that the person she’d grown into being today far outweighed the one who’d interviewed to be the receptionist. She was proud at the steps she’d taken to become more confident in her abilities. 

The iron was hot and the steam felt like a refresh to her skin as the metal skimmed over the dress pants she’d set aside. She was thankful she’d invested in a steamer as well for the silk top she planned to wear as well.

Losing herself in the racing thoughts in her mind, she came back to her happiness that surrounded Jim. She would always recognize Dunder Mifflin as the place that ultimately pushed her and challenged her to become better, even if she didn’t feel like it.

Once the ironing was finished, she stepped into the shower ready to physically feel renewed, like she was washing off her uniform of being the person Roy had wanted her to be, and becoming the person she’d dreamed she would turn into, and the one that Jim would be proud of.

Unsure of where the newfound confidence  and self-love came from, but wanting to ride that high as long as she could, she kept her thoughts in that lane. At least through the interview. Then if negativity seeped in, at least it wouldn’t ruin her positive outlook.

After finishing in the shower and wrapping a towel around herself, she wiped the mirror down. She hadn’t done a full face of makeup for an interview or work in a long time and rarely did it in general. She had about forty-five minutes before she needed to leave. 

As the steam from her bathroom escaped out the door once it was opened, she padded over to the radio turning it on to sing to the 90’s hits. Her all time favorite era of music was on the list for today. It was the only way to prepare for this next phase of her life, after all.

She hummed along to TLC and moisturized her dry skin, focusing on her face, wanting to seem as awake, aware, and ready to go as possible.

Moving to her makeup, she carefully lined her top lids, praying for a miracle that she wouldn’t mess that up, added some carefully placed brown eye shadow, and swiped a few layers of mascara on. She carefully warded off a sneeze, afraid her hard work would be ruined. 

Once she’d completed her makeup, she unraveled her hair from the towel that soaked up its water and began blowing it dry. Once her waves had been brushed out, she plugged her curling iron in to add more depth. She always loved the way her hair looked when she did it like this. It reminded her of the effortlessness that cover-models always seemed to have. She wasn’t unaware that she didn’t look like that, but it at least gave her the illusion she was something more.

It didn’t take long for her to finish the curls and add a light misting of hairspray.

The mirror was no longer foggy and she stared back at herself. She didn’t recognize the woman staring back at her. She was so...beautiful. She smiled softly at her reflection wondering when this had happened. It felt freeing and like a weight was being lifted off of her. She was Pam Freaking Beesly and she was awesome!

Giving the reflection one last smile, she made her way to her bedroom to get dressed. This was one of those times she was grateful she didn’t have a pet. She randomly thought to herself that couldn’t imagine having set her clothes down on her bed and immediately having them covered in fur.

Putting her clothes on and smoothing out the gentle wrinkles that had set from her bed, she took one last look at herself in the mirror, giving herself a thumbs up and a quiet, “you got this” before heading to grab her resume.

Five minutes later she was out the door, a tad earlier than anticipated, but it gave her the time needed to find parking.

The air chillier than a month prior, she was happy the heating in her newer car worked well. It made her finger tips toasty as she drove towards the main route into downtown Scranton.

It wasn’t long before she was at her destination with twenty minutes to spare until her interview. She parallel parked on the street next to the right side of the old brick building sighing at the pure beauty and simplicity of the design. A charming two story in the heart of the city with floor to ceiling windows, she recalled marveling at the alluring space as a young girl. She had always enjoyed when her parents would take her on a drive and on the way home, they’d drive through what she considered to be the art district. It’s where anything that was considered to be related to the arts resided in Scranton.

She sat in her car, wringing her hands together, her earlier nerves that she’d scared off, coming back full force. Taking a few deep breaths, she reminded herself that she was qualified, capable, and freaking awesome. She was looking for a job when she found this one. Okay, that didn’t work as well, but it wasn’t entirely wrong. If this didn’t work out, she had her list.

Pepping herself up a bit more, she glanced down at the clock. Ten minutes until her interview. She grabbed her back on the passenger seat, checked to make sure no cars were coming, and exited the car. 

Her confidence increased with each step she took towards the entrance. She opened the door and was hit with the fresh smell of apples and art. It was the sweet mixture of the seasonal smells, old wooden floors, and canvases. If she could have bottled it up to take home as a candle, she would have jumped at the chance.

She walked towards the receptionist desk, feeling her hair swing behind her like all the professional women she’d always admired had.

“Hi, welcome to Sequoia. My name is Alicia, how may I help you?” Pam smiled down at the thin blonde, admiring her use of a pencil to secure her hair.

With ease and self-assured voice, Pam indicated she was there for an interview.

Alicia stood up and shook her hand, motioning Pam to follow her.

The walk towards what Pam assumed would be a conference room allowed her to get a mini tour of the gallery.

She’d always seen the glass sculptures that hung inside while driving by, but had never imagined they were this grand.

The modern artwork that adorned the walls captivated her and left more questions than answers in her mind.

When they arrived at the conference room, Pam carefully took the space in, noticing three Macbooks and two iMac computers along the north wall of the room. An oblong table stretched in the middle of the space with desk chairs neatly arranged around them.

An espresso maker sat on a counter with two bar stools on the stark white south wall. The north and east walls had exposed brick while the west wall opened up to the sidewalks with its expansive windows.

Two employees stood up, smiling pleasantly as Pam moved forward to sit in one of the orderly chairs.

“Hello, I’m Pam. It’s wonderful to meet you all.” She shook their hands and waited for the introductions.

“Hi, Pam. I’m Danielle, the Sequoia's director. I’m pleased to meet you.” Danielle looked toward the man in the room awaiting his formal reply.

“Pam, I’m Joshua. I am the executive coordinator of design. It’s a pleasure to meet you. Please, sit.” He gestured.

Pam took a seat and folded her hands on the table, with bright eyes staring back at Danielle and Joshua.

“Alright, let’s get started!” Danielle began, shuffling the papers in front of her.

***

An hour later and exhausted from the mental capacity it took her to get through an interview, Pam left the studio with the giddy feeling that she had excelled in her interview.

She checked for cars and opened the door, quickly sitting in the seat and starting her car. 

She grabbed her phone out of her bag to see an encouraging Jim message flash on her phone. Typing, back a quick reply, she then placed her phone in her bag and headed to the nearest coffee shop. It was time for some caffeine and then a quick power nap before she continued becoming the best version that existed of herself.