Jim had been openly seeking Pam out with his eyes while they were at the office.  He would gaze at her on his way back from the break room, or while walking out of the conference room, only to find she had been staring at him first.  There was a confidence in her eyes that hadn’t been there before her confession.  It was as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders.  Whatever happened next, she knew she had been honest with him, finally.

The week had come and gone, and on Friday, Michael, Jim and Karen were off to corporate in New York for their final interviews.  Michael had requested for Pam and Dwight to come in early to see them leave.  Dwight had been put in charge, temporarily, and Pam was to conduct business as usual for the day.  They would call with any updates from corporate, and if anything important happened that Michael needed to know about, he gave Pam the number where he could be reached.  She took the post-it note, and Michael tapped her desk as he left.  Karen and Jim were driving separately, and before going, Pam smiled and wished them both luck.

“You’re going to need luck too, Beesley,” Jim said.  “You know what happens to Dwight when he’s given any kind of authority ….yikes,” he smiled at her as he walked out with Karen. 

**

Dwight’s reign of terror hadn’t been as bad as expected.  He was a very efficient leader, and was less bothersome than Michael usually was, what with his silly nicknames and small talk.  Pam was able to answer the phones in peace, and with the manager and two salespeople out of the office, it was a little slower than normal.

“Dunder Mifflin, this is Pam,” she said into the phone.

“Uh, hey, it’s Jim.”

She gasped a little before replying.  “Hi!  What’s going on there?”

“I haven’t had my interview yet, Karen just went in for hers, and Michael has been on another floor altogether for most of the morning.”

“So where are you?”  She asked, covering her end of the receiver with her hand.

“I’m in reception, just waiting.  I wanted to talk to you for a second.  Are you busy?”

“No.  What’s up?”  She asked, trying to sound as casual as possible.

“I wanted to tell you the job I’m up for is Michael’s old job.  So, that means I wouldn’t be leaving Scranton,” he said into his cell phone as he paced slowly around the room.

“Oh my god, that’s great,” she was so relieved, she leaned back in her chair.

“Yeah, look, I want to be honest with you, since you were so honest with me,” he paused as he ran his hands through his hair.  “Karen and I are staying in the city until Sunday.  She wanted to get away for the weekend.  I wanted you to know.  I thought you should know.”

“Oh, that’s o-“ she began, but he talked over her.

“I’m going to tell her everything.  I can’t do this anymore.”

Pam wasn’t sure what he meant by that.  Do what anymore?  She was lost in her thoughts until she heard him continue.

“Look, I’ll call you today if I find out anything about the promotions.  Otherwise, I’ll call you on Sunday when I get back into town.”

“Um, ok.  Talk to you later.  Good luck,” she was still holding the receiver when she heard his end hang up.  She put the phone down slowly and stared into her computer screen.  She didn’t know how long she had been sitting like that when she realized Dwight was standing at her desk. 

“Question:  Is it in your job description to stare ahead blankly and ignore your duties?  Fact.  It is not.  Pamela, back to work.”

Pam watched him walk over to the accounting department where Angela, having seen Dwight’s display of authority, was waiting for him with a strange smile on her face. 

**

“They told me they’ll let me know their decision by Wednesday,” Karen said as she poured another glass of wine for herself.  She and Jim were having a nice dinner in a little bistro, near their hotel. 

“That’s what they told me, too,” he said, a little distracted.

“Are you ok?  You seem a million miles away.  Do you want to talk about it?”  She asked as she reached across the table to find his hand.

That was the set up he had hoped for, but it felt too easy.  He took a big gulp of wine before he spoke.  “Actually, I do want to talk about it.”

Karen was taken aback by his response.  It was the first time he had said that.  Ever.  She didn’t say anything, she just let him speak.

“I need to be honest with you.  About Pam.”

She pulled her hand away and sat up very straight in her chair.

He sighed before he continued.  “It went a lot deeper than a crush.  I was…I…I’m in love with her.”  He looked up at Karen to see her nodding, just like she did that day in the conference room, when she asked him if he still had feeling for Pam.

“I know you are,” she said quietly, matter-of-factly. 

“I thought I could get past it.  I thought I was over it.  But, I was lying to myself, and to you,” he paused for a second.  “She told me she’s not over it either.  I needed to tell you and to be honest with you, for once.  Karen, I’m so sorry.”

Karen’s face had fallen into a look of hurt and numbness, all at the same time.  She just kept nodding her head while looking at the table.  “You know, you’re pretty transparent?” She said calmly.  “You wear your heart on your sleeve for her.  I always knew where I stood with you.”

“Karen, I-“

She shrugged.  “It’s ok, Jim.  I think its better this way.  I appreciate your honesty, even at this late stage in the game.  At least you told me.  You didn’t give me a lame excuse,” she said, looking into his eyes.  They sat in silence for a few moments before she spoke again.  “What are you going to do?”

“Really?”  He asked. 

“Yeah, really.”

“I hadn’t thought about it any further than this.  Um, I guess she and I need to talk and figure some things out.”

“That sounds like a good place to start.  Have you two ever talked this out before?”

“Nope,” he said, shaking his head.

“That doesn’t surprise me…” she smiled a little at her own joke.  “Seriously, Halpert.  Sometimes you just have to take a chance.  You know what I mean?”

He gave a resigned little smile as he thought about how he’d heard those words before.