All good things must come to an end, and so it was with Pam’s time chatting with her new friend. Katy was awesome, she couldn’t deny, but some of the men who had been hanging around her had wives and girlfriends who had come to get them—and so it was only right to let her actually try to sell her wares for once, rather than vainly crying out about details of stitching to an otherwise unresponsive and leering audience.

To her absolute lack of surprise, Katy was good at it, turning women who’d been glaring at her from the minute they walked in into avid advocates for her workmanship (workwomanship?) within moments, with only a glad smile and a look that suggested “you and I know how men are, don’t we?”

Pam would have wondered if that was the same charm that had been turned on her, and whether she was all right with it having worked, if Jim hadn’t sidled up to her as soon as she was free of the crush and murmured “it was nice of you to go in there and make friends.”

Right.

She’d chosen this.

She’d been the one to go in and make friends.

Katy hadn’t converted her; she’d converted Katy. Or perhaps, wonder of wonders, they’d just befriended each other.

Thus buoyed by Jim, without his even knowing it, she slipped back behind the counter and watched Katy work her magic, much more aware of what was going on than she had been the first time, earlier today, when she’d slid into Jim’s space.

She didn’t miss the ugly look Dwight shot her as she once again entered the zone he could not touch, and neither did Jim.

“Want to pull a prank on him?” He grinned down at her as she glanced up.

“Absolutely I do.”

“Great. Follow my lead.” He squeezed her hand where no one could see it, under the counter, and then suddenly straightened and increased the volume of his voice, clearly pitching it so it would carry to Dwight. She’d have thought he would have to yell at her to do that, but something about his posture or his tone or something made it so that she could tell he was louder, but it didn’t feel overbearing.

Or maybe it was just Jim. She did, after all, feel safe at him, and she had a lot of experience being yelled at, so she could tell the difference right away.

“What? You didn’t buy anything?” She hadn’t, but only because Katy’s bags were not designed to hold a laptop, unlike her current ‘purse,’ and she never went anywhere without the device anymore. But why was Jim making a point out of it? She glanced up and he winked from the side of his face not facing Dwight.

“No, I didn’t.” She sighed, theatrically. “I wish I could have.”

“I know, right?” It was amazing how he managed to enunciate so clearly that she was sure Dwight could hear every word without making it obvious he was putting any effort into it. Maybe it was the debate team experience. “It’s such a shame that no one else realized they were manbags instead of lady’s purses.”

She caught on immediately and slumped, putting her chin in her hands on the counter. “It really is. I thought all those men realized it, but they didn’t buy anything. Apparently no one is smart enough to recognize cutting edge fashion when they see it except me.”

“Well, Beesly, that’s because you’re special.” The side of his mouth quirked up and she knew he was saying that for her more than Dwight. “But…” here he raised his eyebrows “she must be so disappointed that no men have been willing to take the plunge on such a modern and forward-thinking fashion scheme. I hear it’s all the rage now, but you know Scranton men…”

She realized that he didn’t know Katy’s name. “That’s right. Katy is just so disappointed in all the Scranton men who don’t understand.”

Jim sighed theatrically. “If only I hadn’t bought my own designer bag yesterday online. I would have loved to be an early adopter of Katy’s work.” He shook his head. “But you know, once you’re a Yves St. Laurent guy” Pam had no idea if that was the correct French pronunciation, but she was proud of him for trying, “you sink so much money into it that you just can’t take advantage of the opportunities in front of you.”

“So sad, Jim.” She shook her head too. “If only you’d known there was a more fashionable, yet somehow more affordable option coming to your own coffeeshop the very next day.”

“Oh well.” He managed to look relieved and chastened at the same time—maybe he had been a theater minor as well—and shrugged. “At least I know there’s no one here who’s brave enough to upstage me.”

“MAKE ROOM YOU IDIOTS!” Dwight at last took the bait, plunging into the midst of the horde again and shoving people out of the way unceremoniously.

Pam and Jim dissolved into giggles and Pam decided right then and there that they owed Katy at least dinner for having imposed Dwight on her.

But it was totally worth it.