"Come with me."

"What? I can't do that."

"Yes, you can. And you will."

"Who's going to answer the phones?  And what's Michael going to say?"

"Voicemail, Pam.  As a receptionist, you should know this.  Don't make excuses.  And I'll tell Michael I needed you there with me to take notes. Besides, he's in his office with the blinds closed reading the latest issue of OK Magazine. He'll never notice."

"But this is a big presentation for you. If you get this account-"

"When I get this account."

"Okay. When. Won't they wonder why I'm there?"

"Um, again...you're there to take notes. And you're coming. So let's go."

"But what if me being there jinxes you? I'd never forgive myself."

"You couldn't jinx me. You're good for me. Which is exactly why you're going to get up, put your coat on, and come with me on this sales presentation."

"Well, what'll I get in return if I do go?"

"I'll buy you a Happy Meal."

"McNugget?"

"With sweet and sour sauce."

"I'll think about it."

* * * *

She scribbles down words onto a legal pad. The words don't mean anything, they're of no importance, and they don't really need to be written down. But she knows he likes having her there. And every time he asks her to go, she pretends she shouldn't. And she knows he knows she's pretending. It's just something they do.

Eventually someone will catch on that she goes with him on all of his big sales calls.

She likes watching him. He stands straighter during these things, shoulders more broad, looking taller than usual. He gives firm handshakes, makes better jokes, says all the right things. The top button of his collar is always buttoned and his tie is always straight.

She especially likes watching him when the client is a woman, because he has a certain way with them. He's effortlessly charming and so subtly flirtatious (and if she didn't know him so well, she wouldn't even be able to call it flirtatious). It gets her excited, because he's hers and he talks like that to her all the time. Except with her, he actually means it.

She studies him while he pitches a sale to the office manager of one of the local community colleges. The office manager is older, in her early fifties at least. But he's had her attention since the moment they walked into the room.

He'd introduced himself, and complimented her on her office.

Ooh, slick, Halpert. Commenting her on her office decor? The way to a woman's heart.

The woman giggles too loudly, blinks her eyes too often, and plays with her hair too much while he talks to her. It's hard not to laugh, seeing someone act like that because of him.

He chews with his mouth open!  He leaves the bathroom door open when he pees! she wants to scream.

But sometimes she'll look down, only to find her own hair twirled around her finger.

He's much more firm during these sales calls than he is on a normal, every day basis. He never ums, never backtracks, never trails off at the end of a sentence. He keeps eye contact. He manages to smile the whole time without looking cheesy.

It's the smile that seems to get them every time, she thinks.

Today is quick and simple. He makes the sale with ease.

Afterwards, he buys her a Happy Meal.

* * * *

The ride there is always silent. She knows he's going over tactics in his head, rehearsing what he's going to say, reciting the details of what he's trying to sell. She watches him drive, gripping the stickshift, putting the car into gear with authority.

On their way out when he's finished, every time, they always wait for their own elevator and once they're inside, he wraps his arms around her waist, pulls her to him, and kisses her until the doors slide open out onto the ground floor.

The ride back, she can never keep her hands off of him.

* * * *

Sometimes after he gets a big contract, they stop for a drink. But they don't do that much anymore because they had started running out of places to pull over afterwards. It's okay, though, because they always make up for it when they get home after work.

It does something to the both of them, these sales calls.

* * * *

She likes seeing him slide back into normalcy when they get back to the office. When he takes his coat off, he also takes off his air of hyper-confidence, his sophistication, his go-getter attitude. Instead of Assistant Regional Manager Jim, he becomes regular Jim again, messing with Dwight, smirking to the camera, leaning on her desk. His smile morphs from I'm trying to impress you back to I don't need to impress anybody.

She loves both sides of Jim equally, who he is out there and who he is here. Both sides are equally hers.

But still, she hopes no one ever catches on that she goes with him on all of his big sales calls. Because, to be honest (and she'd never tell him this), she likes that side of him just a little more.