Pam stood slowly from her seat in the conference room. She pushed the wrinkles out of her skirt with her hands before turning to the door a mere four feet away from her. She couldn’t stop replaying the past five minutes over in her head.
He entered the room and startled her from her interview.
“Pam!”
His voice sent chills through her when he threw open the door, but what really made her shiver was the determined look on his face. Gah, he looked good.
He apologized to the camera crew and turned to her again. “Are you free for dinner tonight?”
It was out of her mouth without a single thought. “Yes.”
A smile crept up on his lips and his fingers lightly tapped against the window. “Alright. Then, it’s a date.”
That’s the moment she lost it. Her mind stopped functioning normally as he shut the door. She didn’t even finish her interview, she just sat there smiling radiantly.
Now, she had to face him. Pam wasn’t sure why she was nervous. She was more excited than nervous, but was still a little nervous to look at him with her gleaming grin. Don’t seem too eager Pam, she told herself.
She took a deep breath, grabbed the door handle, turned it slowly, and opened the door. When she stepped out of the conference room, with her eyes on her feet, she made her way to the reception desk. She knew he was sitting at his desk, probably watching her out of the corner of his eye as he stared at the papers in front of him.
Once she was safely protected by her reception fortress, she let out a grin that could cover the expanse of the universe. There was no hiding that she was happy and beaming from ear to ear. Pam tried to cover her giddiness by busying herself with paperwork, but failed. Every thought went to his unexpected entrance and the question that shook her world.
How does he always do that, she thought. Even a year ago, he walked in through the office door, directed his steps towards her, placed his lips on hers, and shook her entire being. Her smile widened as she thought of that night.
Her peripheral vision caught him sit up slightly and turn in his chair. He didn’t make eye contact but she knew he was looking at her with his side glance. His attention to her was deflected as Dwight came over to him and started to interrogate.
“What are you doing, Jim?”
“I’m working. What are you doing, Dwight?” Jim asked, mockingly.
“I’m wondering why you’re here. Did you not get the job that you’re obviously under qualified for?” Dwight said, crossing his arms over his chest as he sat down in his chair across from Jim.
Jim sighed. “No. They said I was perfect for the position, actually. But, I found out that it was a scam. You know, Dunder Mifflin is apparently into insider trading,” Jim said, as Dwight leaned forward to listen closer. “They offered me the job as the inside man. I would have been handling all the numbers and stock issues. I declined because I’m just not into that sort of thing, you know?”
Dwight whispered across the desk to Jim. “Corporate is using insider trading? For what purpose?”
Jim followed suit and whisper back. “Same reason as Martha Stewart……fame.”
“Fame?” Dwight asked. “That’s just….”
“Genius,” Jim finished, leaning back in his chair, and twirling a pencil in his right hand. Pam gazed over the reception desk as he kept picking on Dwight. She giggled several times before returning to her job of looking busy.
“Seriously?” Dwight asked with a chuckle.
“Seriously. It’s the perfect attention grabber for the media. Dunder Mifflin gets noticed because of insider trading, corporate gets canned, we’re left to fend for ourselves, and the real story gets covered up.”
“What’s the real story?” Dwight asked, leaning even closer over his desk.
“The cutting down of innocent trees to make our paper products,” Jim said, nodding.
“Our paper is 100% recycled. That’s just ridiculous…”
“That’s what they want you to think!” Jim snapped, leaning in to his desk.
“You’re wrong. You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Dwight stated.
“Fine. When this company goes down, you’ll lose your job and I’ll be on Dateline giving my first hand account of what I witnessed. I’ll be seen as a hero. What about you?”
“I’ll be a hero too, Jim. I’ll go to the media way before this even leaks out,” Dwight snapped, standing and briskly walking to Michael’s open office door. Jim nodded in satisfaction as Phyllis turned in her chair and looked at him.
“What’s the real reason you’re back, Jim? Didn't you get the job?” she asked, pushing up her glasses.
Jim looked straight at her, didn’t miss a beat, and replied, “I figured since the last time I left Scranton, I somehow made my way back here. What’s the point in doing it again?”
“Good to hear that you’re staying for good,” Phyllis said, grinning.
“Thanks, Phyllis. It’s good to be back,” he said, smiling.
As Phyllis turned to get back to her work, she threw a glance at Pam who was gazing in Jim’s general direction. Pam averted her eyes before Jim got out of his chair and walked to the reception desk. He placed his hands on the dark surface and waited for a response from Pam.
“So….” he said, looking anywhere but Pam’s face.
“You’re back?” she asked, still staring at her computer monitor.
“I sure hope so.”
“Good,” she said, smiling and looking into his eyes for the first time since their exchange in the conference room.
“I found your note,” he said, cocking his head to the side.
“Oh,” she replied.
“And, the yogurt lid.”
“…gold medal,” she said, looking up through her eyelashes.
“That’s what I meant…gold medal. It threw me off. You know, without the paper clips and all,” he said, smiling down at her.
“So….” she said, infectiously smiling back at him.
“Tonight….”
“Yeah…” she said, nervously tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.
Jim shifted at the counter. “What’s you’re idea of the perfect date?”
She smiled. “Nowhere near a hockey rink.”
Jim chuckled. “Darn. I’ll mark that one off my list.”
“You know what? Let’s not overdo this. Let’s just go right after work, grab a bite, and hang out. You okay with that?”
“That sounds perfect,” he said, a sigh of relief escaping his lips. He glanced at his watch and made a face. Pam furrowed her brow in wonderment.
“What?”
“I’ll pick you up in thirty minutes then. Right….there,” Jim said, pointing at the coat rack next to Pam’s desk.
Pam giggled. “The coat rack? Oh, I’ll be there.”
“You don’t need directions do you? ‘Cause I can’t stand it when my dates are late,” he said, rolling his eyes.
“No, I think I can find my way to the coat rack at five. Thanks, though,” she said, slightly chuckling.
“Just makin’ sure,” he said, smiling and heading back to his desk.
Pam giggled again and then tried to find something to do to kill the time. People started filing out of the office and exactly at five, she stood, grabbed her purse, and lingered next to the coat rack.
Jim walked over with his coat in hand, his bag slung over his shoulder, and a smile tempting at his lips. He stopped at the coat rack, looked around for a moment, and then looked directly at Pam.
“You must be Pam,” he said, pointing a finger in her direction. “My date, right?”
Pam nodded. “And you must be James Halpert,” she said, sarcasitcally.
“No. Jim. It’s Jim,” he said, with a coy smile as he placed his hand on his chest.
“Oh. Sorry, Jim,” she said, adjusting her purse strap on her shoulder.
After they laughed off their little banter, Jim sighed, looked down into her eyes, smiled, and asked, “Ready?”
She nodded at that simple one word she hadn’t heard in almost a year from him. Indeed, she had been ready for this for a very long time.
