December 3, 2007

He stared out of the big window behind him. The snow was gently drifting down against the window panes and there was a light dusting of white on the rooftops surrounding the building he was in. He wished he was back in Fiji. It wasn’t that he didn’t like the cold, windy, winter weather of New York City – well, he didn’t really. Returning back to New York after the honeymoon had been a cold slap in the face of reality. He had spent the last month – or the past couple of weeks, at least – in a tropical paradise with his new bride. Compared to where he was now, he would much rather be on the beach again with Pam, picking up exotic sea shells and spending the entire afternoon strung up in a hammock under the tropical sun.

“So the honeymoon is over,” Ryan said in a mocking voice as he drummed his fingers against the frame of the office door. Jim spun around in his chair and snapped back to the working world of New York City.

“Well, I’m here, aren’t I?” Jim replied with a forced smile on his face.

“I bet you’re glad to be back,” Ryan said as he took a step into the office. “You’re probably sick and tired of spending so much time with Pam.”

“Actually, I’d much rather be with her at home than here with you,” Jim shot back.

“Touché,” Ryan said with a point of his finger towards Jim before he stepped fully inside of the office. “So I take it that you wowed our clients in Sydney?”

“If I did, you should have heard from them by now,” Jim said turning towards his computer when he heard the familiar ring sounding from his computer to alert an incoming e-mail. He hadn’t heard that ring in a month and he had relished it.

“We had a conference call with them on Friday,” Ryan said rubbing his arm. “I guess they’re still considering.”

“Still considering?” Jim asked, his forehead wrinkling. “I took time out of my honeymoon to go to Sydney in order to try and get business from one of the biggest companies in Australia and they’re still considering?”

“Apparently they’re also impressed by…” Ryan trailed off.

“What?” Jim asked expectantly. “Who?”

“What is the one company that is bigger than ours?” Ryan asked.

“You’re kidding,” Jim replied, his face dropping.

“Well, technically, it’s the head of the company that’s trying to get them,” Ryan said as he absentmindedly drummed his fingers against the top of Jim’s desk. “I do have a sneaking suspicion that their other head, that you know oh-so-well, might be the evil mastermind behind it all.”

“Do you think she’s doing it on purpose?” Jim asked.

“What, like sabotage?” Ryan joked.

“Well, I wouldn’t call it sabotage, but it’s probably one of the biggest money offers that we’ve received in the past two years,” Jim said.

“Yeah,” Ryan said as his fingertips continued to drum against the top of Jim’s desk. He seemed to be deep in thought, and for as long as Jim had known Ryan – well, Ryan had never been one to slip deep into thought unless something was really troubling him.

“What’s up, Ryan?” Jim asked, turning from his computer.

“Oh, no, it’s nothing,” Ryan replied shaking his head and stuffing a hand into his pant’s pocket.

“Something’s up,” Jim said.

“Do you remember the last time that you spoke with Karen?” Ryan asked.

“I try to block it from my mind as much as possible,” Jim replied.

“Well,” Ryan muttered, “do you maybe remember a time that she might have told you a little something or other about her company taking over ours?”

“It rings a vaguely annoying little bell in my mind,” Jim said.

“Yeah, well…” Ryan’s gaze went from Jim’s face to the window behind him. “I don’t think she was kidding.”

“What?” Jim asked, any joking demeanor he might feel inside of him gone.

“She had a couple of meetings with Michael while you were in Fiji,” Ryan replied quietly. “Her company is serious.”

“Why?” Jim asked, it was the only question that his mind could formulate.

“I guess the two companies are under the consideration that if they merge they can rival any other competitor in the United States,” Ryan replied with a quick shrug of his shoulders.

“God, but that would mean I have to work with Karen,” Jim said as he looked down at his hands and shook his head.

“Not necessarily,” Ryan replied. “She could transfer…you could…” He looked up to gauge Jim’s reaction and immediately cut himself short, “Or not. It was just a fleeting thought, really. Horrible idea. You’re what runs this company.”

“Oh please, don’t kiss my ass like that, Ryan,” Jim said.

“I’m not kissing anyone’s ass,” Ryan said. “You’re up for a promotion.”

“Excuse me?” Jim asked, feeling his heart skip a beat.

“I shouldn’t say anything,” Ryan replied quickly.

“Please do,” Jim urged.

“You didn’t hear it from me,” Ryan said quietly, leaning over Jim’s desk. “You’re currently being considered for the position of vice president of the company.”

**

Pam had been promoted before she left for the honeymoon. Really, it had worked out perfectly for her. She had been offered a full-time position at the publishing company that she worked at. With the promotion, not only would she be allowed to illustrate children’s books, but she would also be able to review manuscripts as well. She was able to move to a different building, she would get to work with new people, she was close to home, and best of all – in her opinion, the building was only two doors down from a deli that sold the most amazing sandwiches she had ever eaten in her life.

At nine o’clock that morning she had walked in through the front doors and immediately had a meeting with the head of the offices she would be working in. Most of the meeting was about proper work conduct and how to be professional while spending your entire day around children’s stories.

Pam zoned out through a lot of the meeting, imagining she was still in Fiji with Jim. She missed the parrots and parakeets that sat outside the window of their private bungalow and woke them up much earlier than they actually wanted to rise. She missed lying on the beach next to Jim and stealing kisses whenever she possibly could. She missed the salt of the ocean lingering in the air everywhere they went.

Initially, she thought that a month-long honeymoon with Jim would be too much and that they would get sick of each other after spending so much time together. However, now that they were back in New York City and they were back working their respective nine to five jobs, she began to realize that she wished the honeymoon had lasted a lot longer and she found herself missing him even though she had just seen him that morning before work.

She took a brief lunch at noon, spending about fifteen minutes at the deli with the amazing sandwiches, before she returned to her new office and went to find her new workspace. She was told beforehand that she would be sharing a large office space with two other employees, but so far she hadn’t met either of them. When she rounded the corner and stepped into the office she would be working in, she realized she didn’t even know the names of her co-workers. She stood awkwardly in the doorway as she looked at a woman sitting in a corner and two empty desks – one next to the door and one next to a window.

“Hi,” Pam said timidly, raising her hand as if to gesture a small wave towards the woman. The woman turned with a look of surprise on her face and the expression immediately softened into a maternal smile.

“Hello! You must be Pam!” the woman stood up and closed the space between the two of them.

“Yes, and I wasn’t told your name,” Pam said with a smile.

“I’m Phyllis,” she said extending her hand.

“Hi Phyllis,” Pam said eagerly shaking her extended hand. “It is great to meet you.”

“I hope that you don’t mind the desk over by the window,” Phyllis said nodding towards the empty desk next to the window. “Andy is a little afraid of heights and he likes to sit near the door.”

“Oh,” Pam said nodding. “No problem, I like a lot of light.” Phyllis smiled, she had an expression on her face that seemed to tell Pam that she was relieved.

“Of course, of course,” Phyllis said. “You are the illustrator after all.”

“You’re not an illustrator?” Pam asked.

“No, no, I read over a lot of manuscripts,” Phyllis replied.

“What about the…uh…who’s the other person?” Pam asked.

“Andrew Bernard,” a male voice from behind Pam proudly announced. Pam whirled around to face the man standing behind her.

“Pam Beesly-Halpert,” she said in a similar tone of voice that he had announced himself with. She extended her hand towards him and he shook it earnestly.

“Beesly-Halpert?” he asked. “That is quite a name, little lady.”

“Thanks,” she replied, pulling her hand away from his and nervously running her thumb against her wedding ring.

“You married?” he asked, leaning towards her and raising an eyebrow suggestively.

“Yes, actually,” she replied. She felt her heart quicken just a little as she said it. There hadn’t actually been many moments in the past month that it really, really hit her that she and Jim were married. However, if someone asked about her ring or purposefully asked her if she was married, she was often struck by the sudden realization that yes, she was married now.

“Oh,” he said taking a step back.

“Pam just got back from her honeymoon,” Phyllis interjected.

“Oh, where did you go? Florida? Jamaica?” Andy asked with a wide grin on his face.

“Fiji,” Pam replied quietly, “and Australia the last week because Jim had to do some business.”

Andy’s face seemed to completely change as she said it; the silly grin on his face beforehand seemed to change to shock. Pam quickly shot a glance towards Phyllis who had a rather similarly shocked expression on her face.

“What?” Pam asked, she clasped her hands together in front of her and nervously twisted her fingers.

“Fiji?” Phyllis asked.

“Australia?” Andy asked.

“Yeah,” Pam replied slowly, her eyes quickly darting back and forth.

“Wow, I’ve never been outside of the Northeast,” Phyllis said quietly.

“I’ve only been to Canada,” Andy added, “and Mexico once, but I like to keep that little tidbit of information to myself most of the time.”

Pam nodded and said, “Well, Fiji is really nice. If you ever get a chance to go.”

She nervously smiled and she breathed a sigh of relief when the smile was returned by both Phyllis and Andy. Even so though, she desperately hoped that she hadn’t just alienated the two people that she would be working with.

**

Pam looked up towards the door when she heard the key click in the lock.

“Honey, I’m home!” Jim teased as he walked through the door.

She giggled and looked back down in the sink as she finished filling up the Brita water pitcher. He peeled off his coat and set his bag down by the door and positioned himself behind Pam standing at the sink.

“How was your first day without me, Mrs. Halpert?” he asked as he bent down and nuzzled his chin against her shoulder.

“Terrifying,” she joked as she turned off the water. “And it’s Beesly-Halpert.”

“It is?” he asked, cocking his head to the side and looking into her eyes.

“It is,” she replied. “You’re not upset by that, are you?” She pulled the pitcher from the sink and turned around towards the refrigerator.

“No, I guess I just assumed…” he said.

“Sorry,” she said as she placed the pitcher in the refrigerator, then turned towards Jim again and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I’ve kind of made a name for myself with Beesly, and I’ve been using it for the past twenty eight years. I’ve grown kind of attached to it.”

“Okay,” he said with a smile on his face. He leaned forward and kissed her softly on her lips. “If you want to be Beesly-Halpert, you can be Beesly-Halpert.”

“Wonderful,” she said with a grin as she met his lips again. “So how was your first day back to work?”

“Terrifying,” he replied, imitating her response.

“Terrifying? How come?” she asked.

“Well, I received some interesting, somewhat terrifying, news,” he replied. “A couple pieces of interesting, somewhat terrifying news, actually.”

“Oh?” she asked. He nodded.

“They may just be gossip though,” he replied.

“Do continue,” she said pressing her palms against his chest.

“Well, the first piece of interesting information is that I am apparently being considered for the position of vice president of the company,” he said matter-of-factly.

“What?” she asked, her face lighting up and a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

“Ah, ah! Don’t get too excited just yet,” he stated, “because it also seems that the manipulative she-devil may be trying to come and work with yours truly.”

“What?” she asked again, her face falling slightly and the slow, creeping smile began to disappear.

“I don’t know, like I said, it may all just be rumors,” he said. “However, Ryan told me that Karen’s company is negotiating a deal where the two companies may merge sometime in the near future.”

“What would happen to your vice presidential position if that happened?” Pam asked nervously. Jim shrugged.

“I don’t think I want to worry about it right now,” he replied quickly, pushing the thought out of his mind. “What I would like to worry about is how I spent an entire day not seeing that beautiful face of yours.” He ran his finger down her cheek, across her jaw and at her chin. She smiled and felt a slight blush rise in her cheeks.

“You’ve been spoiled the past month,” she said as he wrapped his arms around her back and pulled her close against his body.

“The only thing I could think about through the day was you skipping along the beaches of Fiji in that little bikini of yours,” he said quietly as his hand trailed to the small of her back and he pushed the hem of her shirt up slightly to trace small circles against her bare skin.

“Really? Because I kept thinking the same thing,” she said with a smile. He chuckled and nestled his lips against her neck and teased the tendon against her neck with the tip of his tongue.

“I miss the taste of salt against your neck,” he murmured. She let out a deep sigh and completely melted in his arms.

“You’re going to wear me out,” she said quietly as she closed her eyes and her head fell back, allowing his lips to explore more of her neck. His chin grazed the dip in her neck and her body shook slightly.

He pulled away and kissed her on the lips before saying, “I look forward to it.”