She carefully scribed the date at the top of the message for Mr. Halpert. June 1, 1954

Pam had been at Dunder-Mifflin for more than five months now. She no longer gave Gladys the messages. She had become partial to hand-delivery. Well, only when it came to Mr. Halpert.

He made work enjoyable for her. Pam couldn't remember a time when she'd had a male friend. She had begun going steady with Roy when she was sixteen, but they were never really "friends". She knew her mother would have a fit if she knew how much time Pam spent in his office alone with him. The conversation was always light-hearted, but sometimes he made her feel funny, which would result in ignoring him for a week or two.

She tried her hardest not to skip on the way. It was Friday and she was in a good mood. Plus, she knew that the note in her hand guaranteed her at least five minutes of fun away from her switchboard.

Dottie saw her before she even reached the door. She hit the buzzer and only said, "Miss Beesly."

Pam smiled at her before she opened his door and for the first time, Dottie smiled back. Pam figured that Friday was getting to everyone.

She entered the office and the blinds were closed, his chair was facing the window and a stream of smoke was rising toward the ceiling. She smiled inside; she loved this game.

He whipped around in the chair. "Whadda ya want?"

In her breathiest voice, she said, "You have a message, sir." She placed the paper slowly on the desk.

With his cigarette still hanging off the side of his lip, he said harshly, "Si' down."

She plopped quickly in the chair, trying her best to keep the giggles down.

She had joked with him once about looking like a detective when he put his feet on the desk. It led to a half-hour of talking in silly voices like in the mystery movies her father loved so much. Now "private eye" had become one of their favorite games.

"I got a problem, see?" He kicked his feet up onto the desk. "My secretary's gettin' married, see?"

She gasped dramatically, "Oh gee!"

"So I need me a new one, whadda ya say?"

She completely broke character. "Me? You want me to be the secretary?"

He put the cigarette out. "Yeah. You start on Monday." He winked at her before turning the chair back around. "Now get outta my sight."

On the way out, she told Dottie her congratulations and rushed home to find an outfit for Monday.

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Monday morning, Jim was excited to start spending more time with Pam. Dottie had been wonderful, but Pam was much more fun. He only wished he knew her more. Their relationship was very superficial. He wanted to know where she grew up, what her family was like. Her favorite color, what she did on the weekends. Now he would have all day every day to do so.

When he entered the front room of the office, Pam was in the corner taking off her sweater. As she hung it on the rack, he couldn't keep his eyes off of her. She was wearing a light pink dress, covered in yellow roses. The back dipped down in a low V that stopped just above her waist.

Jim found himself transfixed by the curve of her back, her creamy skin. Some of her hair had fallen in tiny wisps on her neck.

He began to cross the room, wanting nothing more than to run his finger down the length of her spine. As though it had a mind of its own, his hand started to reach toward her.

She turned around with a jump. "Oh! You startled me." She clutched a hand to her chest and laughed.

"That's a lovely dress," was all he could say.

She looked down and held the sides of the skirt out. "Thank you! I made it for Fourth of July, but the weather is so nice today, I thought I'd bring it out early."

He started toward his office. "Well, you look fantastic," he smiled.

She tried her hardest to hide the blush that was spreading across her face.

"Thank you, Mr. Halpert."