It was a mundane late afternoon at Dunder Mifflin, as usual. Pam, as per her routine, was at her receptionist desk, merely observing the surroundings and hoping, by some miracle, the phone would ring for a change.

Nothing, absolutely nothing, just the common sound of an equally common paper company.

Pam breathes in and exhales slowly, taking another look around, fortunately having a good view. Through the window, she could see Michael doing anything but working. In front of her, Dwight appeared extremely focused on his task, as if it were the most important thing in the world. Just behind, Pam could tell that Stanley was probably doing crossword puzzles.

And then, finally, her eyes fall upon Jim. She sighs softly, feeling a bit melancholic. The guy is smiling as he talks on the phone, probably trying to close a sale. Yes, Jim is always so friendly with the customers, no wonder he's one of the top salesmen in the company. Pam loves the outgoing and charming way he carries himself, even knowing he'd rather be working anywhere else but here, he still excels effortlessly. She wishes she could be like that too.

Looking down, she notices a piece of paper with some doodles on it, and she smiles sadly. She remembers the missed opportunity Jan offered her, to take an art course in New York, but then Roy, her fiancé, said it wouldn't lead to anything and was nonsense. Maybe he was right, Pam couldn't envision herself doing anything other than being a receptionist. This is her reality, and there's nothing she can do about it.

Unlike her, Jim is so smart, he knows how to talk to people, and he has such charm... Pam smiles, and without even realizing it, she was making a brief sketch of Jim smiling on the phone. It was a simple drawing, but anyone who knew him would recognize it. She laughs lightly looking at the paper, but then realizes what she's done. She was drawing her coworker, there's nothing wrong with that, right? They were just friends, there's nothing wrong with doing things like this. Friends do this all the time, don't they? She shouldn't worry about it, because...

Right at that moment, the phone rings.

 "Dunder Mifflin, this is Pam." She answers, a bit flustered, still looking at the paper. At this moment, as always, Jim looks at her and notices something is off. Oh yes, he knows when something's off with Pamela Beesly. Jim knows her better than literally anyone. Pam looks at him, then quickly averts her gaze. Yes, definitely something's off.

Upon noticing the receptionist's unusual behavior, the filming crew, who had been focused on an unusual dialogue between Dwight and his client, turns the cameras to Pam, who quickly realizes what's happening.

Getting used to the cameras always being in the office wasn't an easy task for a shy and reserved person like Pam. But now, she knows well how to interact with the crew, and she knows well when they're focused on her. And obviously, this was one of those moments.

"Um... just a minute." Pam feels her face turning red, feeling embarrassed and drawing too much attention from the cameras. She has to act quickly. "Would you like just this number?" With the cameras closing in, Pam acts on impulse, crumpling the paper and tossing it into the trash can under her desk. No one would look in the receptionist's trash, right? "Alright." Almost in the same second, she regrets it. It was a beautiful drawing that unfortunately she had to discard. Her heart was racing, and her cheeks were still warm.

Pam was terrible at hiding things, Jim knew that. Something was bothering her, and his intuition told him that... it had something to do with him.

  [...]

 "You're not leaving?" Pam asked a little later that day. Everyone was practically ready to go home and rest, except Jim.

"Oh, yeah. I'm just about to, just need to wrap up something here." He tries to give the most genuine smile possible, pretending to be busy with something on the computer.

"Alright." It's not usual for Jim to be so focused on work, but she's so tired she just wants to go home. "See you tomorrow?" The receptionist puts on her coat and grabs her bag.

"As always, Beesly." This time, she smiles genuinely. Pam smiles back. How she loves it when he calls her that.

Gradually, every employee of Dunder Mifflin left, and only Jim remained. Checking that he was truly alone, he went over to the receptionist's desk. Yes, he knows it's a little strange and perhaps wrong, but he feels he needs to understand what happened. He heard Pam crumple something, probably some paper, while looking at him and the cameras strangely, hiding something. He just feels it has something to do with him, and truth be told, he's extremely curious.

Pam's desk is well-organized, so it didn't take long for him to notice a suspicious crumpled paper in her trash can. Jim, feeling a bit hesitant, picks up the crumpled paper. He sighs. Is this wrong? I mean, if she threw it away, there must be a reason. No, he's not like that, he wouldn't betray Pam's trust in this way, even if she never knew. But... Jim murmurs, about to toss the paper back into the trash. However, something inside him prompts him to open the paper in one swift motion.

His eyes quickly scan through the various doodles there, simple everyday things, until he reaches the main drawing. Jim's eyes widen. It's him. Yes, it's definitely him. There's no doubt, Pam drew him. Jim smiles, unable to believe it. He places the paper on the desk and does his best to smooth it out, even though it's completely deformed. But still, it's clearly visible.

Pam Beesly, the girl he loves, drew a picture of him.

He needs a good, safe place to keep this.