Alone with his thoughts in the conference room, Jim knew he was a horrible boyfriend. Karen knew it too, and knew the reason why. He’d done the same thing to Katy that he was doing to Karen; the only difference was that Katy hadn’t had any idea.
Footsteps from the doorway bring Jim back to reality. He watches Karen walk purposefully toward him and he already knows where this conversation will go before a word even leaves her mouth.
“Hey.” Jim’s elbows rest on his knees and he looks straight ahead, no longer meeting Karen’s gaze. He already sounds defeated, like he’s finally ready to admit he can no longer fight something that clearly isn’t going away.
Karen doesn’t say anything at first but sits down beside him and sighs loudly. Looking down at her hands, she knows that she can’t do this alone. She can’t make something work that’s built on a lie, no matter how badly she wants it to.
Finally she musters the courage. It’s now or never. Staring pointedly at him, Karen asks softly, “Do you still have feelings for her?”
Jim’s eyes are fixated on the wall ahead of him. It’s like he is searching for the answer there, the answer Karen wants but one he knows he can’t give. Jim blinks several times; whether he’s trying to will the answer to appear before him, or trying to blink back tears, even he isn’t sure. All Jim knows is that he has to be honest now, because he hasn’t been – with her or himself for a long, long time. Slowly, slowly, he nods.
“Yes.”
Jim looks down at his hands. He can’t look her in the eye and he doesn’t need to, because he knows exactly what he will find. The hurt in those brown eyes will be the same look he had that night in the parking lot when Pam had broken his heart.
Though it was exactly the answer Karen had been expecting, it still hits her like a ton of bricks. She’s in shock, really, nodding her head furiously and all she can think in the moment is, ‘Get out of here right now Filippelli. Do not let him see you cry.’ She chews momentarily on her bottom lip, biting back tears of her own, and continues nodding because the motion helps her focus on anything but the feeling that she’s just been punched in the gut. Without another word Karen hastily exits the conference room, leaving Jim alone with his thoughts.
