“I'm looking forward to it too. Have a good evening.”
David hung up the phone in his home office and looked out his window with a sigh. The sun was just going down, and the automatic lights in his back yard were flickering on. He watched the empty basketball court, enjoying the sudden silence in his office. Work was done - finally. He had made his last call, and everything seemed to be in order.
Swiveling the chair around from the window and back to his desk, David couldn't help but take another look at the paperwork on Jan that the H.R. Rep had given him. The H.R. Rep was a horrible guy, no doubt about it, but as hard as it was for David to admit it, sometimes the man could be useful. Jan had been increasingly erratic recently, and this last revelation had been the final straw for David. He needed her out, and fast. Now that he had the paperwork from H.R. finished, he could break the news to her, although he'd have to wait until Friday. Thanks to the phone calls he just made, he even had some replacement candidates lined up.
Not bad for a Monday.
David was about to organized the paper on his desk a little and go upstairs to see how his son was doing on his homework when he heard the doorbell ring. He left his office and approached the front door, opening it to find none other than Michael Scott standing on his front porch.
“Michael? What are you doing here?”
“Uh, hi David. I was hoping I could come in and talk to you a bit.”
David peered out at Michael's Sebring, which was parked on the side of the road near his front walk.
“You drove all the way out here from Scranton to see me?”
Michael coughed apprehensively.
“Yeah, it's kind of important. I wanted to talk to you about a few things.”
David shrugged and stepped aside, motioning for Michael to enter.
“Thank you very much, sir.”
Although David had not been expecting Michael's visit, he supposed it was not entirely unwelcome. It was getting late, but since Michael was already here, they could go over a few things that he had been planning on dealing with tomorrow. Not to mention that David hated trying to get his son to focus on homework. Ever since he had gotten him that drum set, it was either drumming or watching music videos online while refusing to wear headphones. No work ethic in the boy at all.
“Please, this way,” said David, leading Michael into the parlor. He motioned to a couch where Michael sat down before grabbing a couple of glasses and some cognac from the nearby mini-bar. David took a seat beside his most unpredictable regional manager and filled a glass before handing it to him.
Michael took a drink and coughed violently. “I – hnngh - I talked to John Schneider today,” he said.
“Oh yes?”
“Yep. He didn't have anything finalized with any of our competitors, and he was just upset that I missed our meeting last time. I had to listen to him talking about stuff for like three hours, but I managed to get him to renew his contract with Dunder Mifflin. So we're still the paper providers for Schneider's Groceries.”
“Michael, that's excellent! You should have done that earlier, if it was that easy to get him to renew.”
“Yeah. I guess I was just kind of embarrassed about the whole thing, and I didn't want to admit that I was wrong.”
David smiled. Michael hadn't explained anything yet, but he knew what he was getting at. Micheal and Dwight's explanation of why they had been late to the original meeting with Schneider – and the fact that Jim would have done something as rash as putting Dwight's agenda in jello – had seemed strange to David. After hearing Jim deny their account, he had gone back to the corporate offices feeling like he hadn't heard the whole story. Now that he knew just how Jan was involved, David was glad to see that Michael was going to own up to it.
“Wrong in what way, Michael?”
“Wrong for blaming Jim. It wasn't Jim's fault, David. That whole thing with the planner and the missed meeting time – me and Dwight just made it up. Or I told Dwight to follow along, anyway. He listens to anything I say, even if I'm just making it up to mess around with him. It was my fault I missed the meeting, I just didn't have the right time and we ended up late to the restaurant, and Schneider was already gone. I was scared I'd get in trouble, so I lied to you. I'm sorry, David.”
Michael began to tear up a little, which David found incredibly uncomfortable. He drew back instinctively as Michael put down his half-drunk glass of cognac, reaching his arms out for a hug which David did not want to return. “Hold on, hold on,” he said, “no need for that. It's not all your fault, is it Michael?”
Michael sniffed, holding back from crying as best he could. It appeared to take an almost superhuman effort. “W-what do you mean?” he asked.
“Wasn't Jan involved?”
Michael stared silently at David.
“Look, Michael, I know what actually happened. I'm sorry for stringing you along, but I wanted to see if you were going to admit to it yourself, and it looks like you are taking responsibility. I'm glad to hear it. But you don't have to cover for Jan. Jan's work performance has been spotty lately. She's late all the time, calling in sick all the time. I had Sadiq check some of Jan's calls and found a lot of non-work-related stuff. But I also found a call she made to you, Michael. A call about coming to meet you for a” - David paused, as if trying to bring himself to say what was on the tip of his tongue - “well, a booty call, on the same day you were supposed to meet John Schneider. So I know why you were late.”
Michael gulped.
“Does this mean I'm fired?”
“No, no,” laughed David. “Look, Michael, I didn't know you and Jan had a relationship, and you should have disclosed it to corporate, but as your superior, Jan should have known better than to put you in that kind of position. It's this kind of thing that makes it a good idea to disclose your relationships to corporate in the first place. She wasn't forcing you to do anything you didn't want to do, was she?”
Michael shook his head slowly. He wasn't sure what exactly David was getting at – maybe he was talking about work stuff – but Michael's thoughts immediately went to the bedroom. He hadn't done anything he didn't want to do. At least, not yet. But he got the feeling that maybe if he gave Jan an inch, she'd take a mile. “What's going to happen to her?” he asked nervously.
“Oh, she won't be working for Dunder Mifflin any longer. Try to keep this between us, though, until we work everything out officially.”
The news of Jan's impending firing struck Michael strangely. He wasn't sure how he felt about it, really. There was a surge of sympathy, maybe even a little bit of guilt that it was his fault somehow, but at the same time, he felt a strong sense of relief intermingled in his reaction. He had been having some second thoughts about his relationship with Jan recently, and he did feel like Jan had put him in a really uncomfortable position the day of the client meeting. And not just in bed, either. Maybe this was the easiest way to step out of their relationship before it got too weird. There was no way they'd keep going out if Jan didn't work for the company anymore, he told himself. Right?
“By the way,” said David as he took a sip of his drink, “what do you think of Karen Filippelli and Ryan Howard?”
“Why do you ask?”
“I was just calling them to offer them a position in corporate before you got here. I hope you don't mind, but your branch has been doing well lately, and I thought they both seemed like promising candidates. We can always do some shuffling if one of them takes the position and you need a replacement for them at Scranton.”
Michael's mind raced at the thought of either of them leaving the office for corporate. The idea of Karen and Ryan being his superior was ridiculous, and he knew he would miss seeing Karen around the office – she was like a slightly thinner, more exotic, but less well-endowed Pam – but he wouldn't be crushed if she left, exactly. It was the thought of losing Ryan that had sent a jolt of electricity shooting up his spine. What would the office be like without Ryan? Michael shuddered at the thought. Not much fun at all, that was for sure. All of the edgy erotic tension of the Scranton branch would be sucked out, unless Pam loosened up a lot.
“Karen is a good candidate,” said Michael. “Hard worker, competent, shows up on time. I don't think Ryan would be so good. He doesn't have a lot of initiative, and he's never even made a sale.”
David frowned. “Really? Isn't he close to getting an MBA? Why are we keeping him if he's never made a sale?”
Michael, realizing he might have gone too far over his mark, coughed nervously in the middle of a drink as he backpedaled. “Oh, well, he hasn't made one yet, but I think I'm making good progress with him. Ryan has a lot of potential, I just need to show him the ropes a little more.”
“Gotcha,” said David. “He must have potential if he's getting through business school. Anyway, now that this whole fiasco with losing John Schneider as a client has been cleared up, I'm going to have to call Jim tomorrow and apologize for blaming him for the whole thing. You've made things a bit awkward for me, Michael.”
“I'm so sorry.”
David couldn't help but chuckle at Michael's abject tone. “It's alright. I'll have to offer him the position, too. I know you seem to like him, don't you? He seems like a personable guy, and maybe a managerial position would get him a little more serious about things, challenge him a little. What do you think?”
Yet another valued employee on the verge of leaving, thought Michael. And just when I was going to apologize to him and get him to stay!
”I'm not sure,” he said. “I think Jim is very good at sales.”
“Right. What about management potential?”
Michael shrugged. He wanted to tell David that Jim wouldn't be good management potential – and to be honest, Michael wasn't sure if it would even be a lie, since Jim was not always the hardest worker – but he hesitated at the thought of trying to keep Jim from the job by talking him down. He was trying to make things right with Jim, after all. Now that Michael thought about it, he had just done the same thing with Ryan. Some would say sabotaging Ryan's chances. But sabotage was an unfair word. Michael took another sip of his cognac, feeling a sense of wooziness creeping into his head along with the beginnings of a headache. Trying to patch things up by talking to David was harder than he had expected. Michael felt his head begin to hurt as he weighed his options and felt himself spinning in a moral whirlpool.
That, or maybe it was just the cognac.
“Wait,” he said, a thought coming to mind. “What about me?”
David adjusted his glasses as he waited for Michael to continue. “Sorry?” he asked. “What about you?”
“Can I apply for the job?”
David stared open-mouthed for a moment, and a faint blush crept across his cheeks.
“Oh, well – uh, yes, of course Michael. I meant to offer the position to you too. You can come in for an interview if you're interested. It's just been so hectic the last couple days, I'm still trying to get things in order, but yes, you're definitely a candidate for the job as well.”
“Good,” said Michael. “Very good. I shall consider that.”
David finished his drink and got up from the couch.
“Alright, I have to go check on my son, and it's getting late. We've got everything wrapped up here, I suppose?”
“I think so.”
Michael followed David's example and got up, shaking the CFO's hand and feeling relieved that his awkward visit was coming to an end. David led him to the front door and opened it up.
“Have a good evening, Michael. Let me know if you need anything else.”
“I'll call you about that interview.”
“Definitely.”
Michael left the house, hearing the front door shutting behind him. He strode down the walkway that led towards the secluded suburban street in front of his house, glancing back to take in David's home. He liked his condo, but it wasn't much compared to the size of David's place. Being CFO must come with a huge paycheck. And you got to live in New York.
The more Michael thought about it, however, the thought of working at corporate didn't seem as exciting as he had expected, now that it was within reach. He had always told himself he wanted to live in New York, but that would mean leaving Scranton. Leaving Dunder Mifflin Scranton branch, more specifically. What did he accomplish if he got Jim to stay, only to leave the branch himself? Of course, if Michael turned down the job, Jim might take it and end up being his boss, which was so strange that Michael had a hard time imagining it.
Definitely a strange night. The only thing Michael could think of doing now - besides getting back to his place and falling asleep - was to talk to Jim tomorrow. Then, hopefully, Jim would finally forgive him and everything could go back to normal.
.....
Jim was having a hard time concentrating.
There were a number of reasons it was difficult to concentrate on his work. One of the newest, for example, was his breakup with Karen over the weekend. Seeing her mere yards away was not getting any easier, even if he knew now that Karen had been right to break up with him. Sitting in the same office as your ex-girlfriend of two days was excruciatingly awkward; Jim was beginning to understand why they always said workplace romances were a bad idea. He seemed to have a lot of trouble following that advice.
Beyond having to deal with the whole Karen situation, Jim had been having trouble focusing on his work ever since he gave his two week's notice. He would be gone soon, and there was no reason to try very hard when it came to getting anything done. Not that there was much of a reason to do anything in the past, other than earning the paycheck which came no matter what pace he worked at. But ever since Jim had been counting the days until he left Dunder Mifflin, it had been difficult to muster any motivation at all.
Getting a call from David an hour ago, however, was making it difficult to concentrate for a whole new reason. Apparently, David knew Jim had been falsely accused of messing up the meeting with John Schneider last week. Not only had David apologized for reprimanding Jim when it wasn't his fault, but he had offered him a job in corporate. Jim hadn't heard about any job openings. Maybe Jan was in trouble. Or maybe there was just a new job in New York that Wallace needed to fill. Either way, suddenly Jim found himself faced with an option beyond quitting. It was a tempting offer, too. A pay raise, a new place to live. New York had to be more interesting than Scranton. But did he want to move up in Dunder Mifflin instead of out?
Finally, beyond the choice Jim had to make, his last distraction of the morning was Michael's bizarre behavior. Jim had caught his boss staring at him through the blinds of his office window at least a dozen times. It was beginning to rival the attention Michael paid to Ryan on slow days. On a couple of occasions, Michael had come out to talk to Pam or run some errand in the main room, only to linger near Jim's desk on his way back as if on the verge of saying something before retreating back into his office. Jim didn't know how David found out that he wasn't at fault in the Schneider fiasco, since David hadn't gone into any detail, but he wondered if Michael had confessed to the CFO.
And now, maybe his boss was waiting for the right opportunity to make things right with him.
“Jim,” said Michael as he opened his door a crack. “Can I speak to you?”
Jim grinned. That had to be it.
“Sure, Michael.”
Inside the office, Michael shut the door behind Jim and began to pace about nervously. Jim stood patiently, waiting for his boss to explain why he had been acting so strangely all morning. It didn't take long.
“Jim, I told David it was my fault, okay? I took full responsibility. And I'm sorry I used you as a scapegoat, I'm sorry I put you in such a horrible position. It won't happen again.”
Michael paused in his pacing, peering at Jim as if trying to read his mind.
“Was that – was that what you wanted?”
Jim smiled.
“Yes, Michael. That was what I wanted.”
Michael breathed a sigh of relief. Apparently Jim's answer was what he had been hoping for. The reaction sent a little twinge of guilt through Jim, as he knew it wasn't really the answer his boss was hoping for. Now that he had gotten that call from David, he wasn't sure if an apology made a difference anymore. And even if it did, there was more driving his decision to quit than what Michael had done to him. Things had gone beyond that.
“Anyway,” said Jim, “I already knew you told David what really happened. At least, he called me this morning and knew it wasn't my fault, so I figured you told him what really happened.”
“Yeah. So, does this mean you're not going to quit?”
Jim frowned. It was a simple question, but with a complicated answer. Well, maybe not so complicated when it just boiled down to a no – he had still been planning on quitting this morning – but he knew Michael would ask why, and that was complicated. Not to mention that Jim needed to think about the possibility of promotion.
“David mentioned a position at corporate, actually,” said Jim. “He said I'd definitely get an interview for that if I applied.”
“Me too,” said Michael, trying to sound casual. “I might interview for that one too. You'll be up against some tough competition, young padawang.”
“Padawang?”
“Star Wars, Jim.”
“What's that?”
Michael gave Jim an incredulous look. “Come on, Jim, Dwight talks about it all the time. I thought you were almost as nerdy as he was. Anyway, look – are you sure you want to apply for a job at corporate? I mean, is that really your scene? New York?”
It was obvious that Michael didn't want him to apply, but Jim couldn't be sure if it was because his boss didn't want competition – assuming he was serious about trying for the job in the first place – or if it was because he didn't want Jim to leave the Scranton branch. But then, even if Michael had an ulterior motive, he also had a point. Jim had only gotten David's call a little over an hour ago, and he had already been wondering if moving up to management was what he wanted. He knew it was what Karen would have wanted, but she had just broken up with him. Maybe she would go for the job herself. As for himself, Jim couldn't help but wonder if New York really was his scene.
“You know, I really don't know, Michael. I might not do it. I might just quit anyway.”
“But why? I just apologized to you, and I swear I won't blame stuff like that on you again. I mean, unless I'm really stuck between a rock and – no, I won't. I won't do it again!”
“Michael, look, I appreciate you being honest, but I've been thinking about it, and it's not just about what you did. I think quitting is the best thing for me.”
“Well it's the worst thing for me, Jim!”
Michael crossed his arms petulantly, his lower lip quivering, before regaining his composure. He strode to the office door. Jim half expected him to storm out of his office in a huff, but instead, he stood in the doorway and looked out at his employees.
“Dwight!” he yelled.
“Yes, Michael?”
“Come in here, please.”
Dwight leaped up from his desk and entered Michael's room, shutting the door behind him. He saw Jim standing nearby and recoiled for a moment before looking to Michael for orders.
“Tell Jim you're sorry.”
Dwight looked back and forth between Michael and Jim, as if sensing that he was caught in a trap.
“Sorry about what, Michael?”
“For helping me lie about him to David. Wake up, Dwight.”
Dwight twitched noticeably.
“I'm not sorry. I'm not sorry for anything.”
“Say you're sorry or Jim will quit!”
Jim tried his best not to start grinning at the exchange. Dwight gave him a defiant stare, which Jim returned with a piercing stare of his own, until finally Dwight lowered his head. It was hard to hear, as his voice came out in a mumble, but Jim could pick it up when he strained his ears.
“I'm sorry, Jim.”
“What was that, Dwight?”
“I'm sorry I lied about you, Jim. You should stay here at the office. You should keep working here.”
Dwight looked up again, and before Jim could respond, he took a quick step forward and pulled Jim into a hug. Jim hadn't expected it, and the momentum was enough to make him stumble back a few steps as he stood limply, caught in Dwight's grip. He heard a stifled sniff come from his coworker as he buried his face in Jim's shoulder.
“Don't leave, Jim. We're a good team, even if you're my worst enemy. And sometimes,” - Dwight let out a muffled cry - “sometimes you're tolerable!”
Jim began to feel more awkward and uncomfortable than amused. He wanted an apology from both of them, even if he had never been expecting one from Dwight. Now, he had finally gotten what he wanted. The problem was that he was still thinking of quitting, and both of them seemed like they were on the verge of breaking down. Jim began to wonder if he was somehow playing with their emotions. Still locked in Dwight's embrace, he noticed Michael take a step forward and stare insistently at him.
“Is that enough for you, Jim? Have you had enough?”
“Guys, look – guys,” he said as he broke free of Dwight's grasp. “It means a lot to me that you both said you were sorry, but I'm still going to quit. I'm sorry, but like I said, I just think it's the best thing for me.”
“Why would it be the best thing for you, Jim? Don't you like it here?”
“Sure,” said Jim, hoping that his lie wasn't too transparent. “It's just that I've been thinking about moving on and trying new things, you know? Selling paper is interesting and all, but I just think that-”
“Is this about Pam?”
“Yeah Jim,” echoed Dwight. “Is it about Pam?”
The question cut off Jim's feeble attempt at letting Michael down easy. He had been ready to launch into a whole spiel about how fun it was to work at Dunder Mifflin. He raised an eyebrow for a moment, shocked at how Michael had seen right through him. Then again, Jim had already transferred because of Pam before, and even told Michael that was why. He felt reluctant about confirming Michael's question a second time, though. He had been through enough drama with Pam.
She was with Roy again, no matter what Jim thought about the decision, and she had already rejected him twice. He didn't need Michael hearing that he was quitting because of her and causing a horrific scene five minutes later when he stormed into the office and demanded that Pam ditch Roy and declare her love for Jim. Although Jim wished it could be that easy. Maybe that would be worth a bit of a scene.
“No,” he said. He felt his lies becoming more transparent, but he had no other choice. “It's not about Pam. It's just something I have to do.”
“I can talk to Pam for you if you want.”
“Please don't.”
“What can we do then, Jim? What can we do to get you to stay?”
Jim was at a loss for words. From the way his boss spoke, it sounded like he wasn't very interested in going for that corporate job. If Michael got promoted it wouldn't really matter whether Jim was still working at Scranton or not, as Michael would barely see him anymore. He seemed to see Jim's quitting as a part of his office family leaving him. The thought saddened Jim a little, but he knew what he had to do. Sympathy for Michael was not enough to change his mind now.
“I'm sorry, guys. I have to get back to work now. Just promise me you won't say anything silly to Pam, okay Michael?”
Michael nodded quietly. Jim left him and Dwight standing together as he left the room, returning to his desk. Pam looked up from the receptionist's desk and gave him a concerned look. Jim traded a perfunctory smile with her, and then resumed his usual uphill battle as he tried to do something productive with what little time he had left.
.....
“Hey Jim.”
Jim looked up at Pam's greeting from where he sat at the kitchen table, eating his ham and cheese sandwich.
“Hey Pam. What's up?”
“Just getting a snack.”
Pam was just going to grab a yogurt from the fridge as a snack and return to her desk, but now that she saw Jim sitting alone, she couldn't resist the urge to talk to him. She hated that every encounter with Jim was turning into some kind of serious choice where she had to weigh the pros and cons. Whether Karen would see them and think their being together was something more than it was. Whether her work chats with Jim were too flirty, too friendly. Now that she was with Roy again, and ever since Jim had come back with Karen, their conversations had taken on a new significance. A significance she had never really considered, even though the two of them had been good friends at work forever.
“You can sit down if you want,” said Jim.
Pam sat down. Although Karen was in the office and could come in at any time, Pam decided that she didn't care enough to let it stop her from talking to Jim. And, speaking of Karen, things between her and Jim had definitely been cold as ice over the last two days at work. Pam didn't know what was going on, but something was wrong between the two of them. It was even worse than when they had been arguing about whether or not Karen could move into an apartment near Jim's. She opened her yogurt and unwrapped one of the plastic spoons she had taken from the kitchen counter.
“Hey Jim,” she asked, “if you don't mind me asking, if something going on between you and Karen?”
Jim nodded as he stared at his sandwich.
“We broke up.”
Pam's spoon-holding hand temporarily paused in mid-air, the spoon holding a heaping mound of mixed berry yogurt. Her surprised expression only last a moment, however, as Pam moved the spoon the rest of the way to her mouth and ate her yogurt, trying to look interested but not shocked at the news.
“I'm sorry. What happened?”
“She broke up with me. Things were kind of winding down between us for a little while, I guess.”
Pam nodded.
“Are you okay?”
“Not bad. Things are awkward, but I guess it'll be easier for both of us when I leave.”
Pam noticed a strange stabbing feeling when Jim brought up leaving. It was not the usual sadness that she felt at the thought of going to work without Jim around. It was like Jim's words had been directed at her somehow. The way he said it so casually, like it was just something he decided to do one day. Just something new he decided he'd try out.
“So you're still planning to quit? It sort of looked like Michael and Dwight were apologizing to you in there.”
“Oh yeah? Can you hear anything in there?”
“Not usually, but that's just what it looked like to me. And I thought I heard Michael crying for a minute.”
Jim snorted, and the two of them smiled at each other.
“That's not nice, Pam. Michael has had a lot to deal with.”
“Sorry. Poor Michael. Losing his best salesman.”
“Dwight's his best salesman.”
“Whoops,” said Pam. “I forgot about that. I still don't understand how he ends up being the best salesman in the branch. How does he not just scare away every client he tries to make a sale with?”
“Perseverance. Confidence. And he can actually be kind of civil when he's on a sales call. He comes off like he's all authoritative, but not totally crazy like he does when he's here in the office. Or anywhere else, I'm guessing.”
“Right. So, anyway,” said Pam, wanting to press the subject of Jim's departure, “why are you still quitting if Michael and Dwight apologized to you? I thought that was what you were fed up about. Dealing with that kind of thing.”
Jim shrugged. “It was, but I guess I've been thinking about it and decided I need to move on from the paper biz, you know? I want to try something else.”
“Like?”
There was a pause while Jim chewed on a bite of his sandwich. Pam got the feeling that her question did not have a ready response. “I'm not really sure,” said Jim. “I'm sort of interested in sports writing. I'm not sure how I'd get into that, though.”
“I didn't know that about you.”
“Well, Beesly, now you know.”
“I think you could get into it if you tried. You're a smart guy, Jim. As long as you apply yourself.”
“Thanks, mom.”
Pam resisted the urge to fling a gob of yogurt at him.
“Karen didn't break up with you because you were quitting, did she?”
“I'm not sure. It might have been part of it, but it was more than that.”
Jim finished his sandwich and got up from the table.
“I'd better get back to work.”
“Okay. Oh, hey,” said Pam before he left the kitchen, “you know we should hang out sometime if you're really going to quit. I mean, You can't just disappear next week before I even know what happened, right? You've been here forever.”
“Thanks for reminding me.”
“Seriously though. Lunch or something? I mean, I'm going to miss you once you're gone.”
It was the truth, but Pam was second-guessing herself before the words even came out of her mouth. She didn't want to come off as desperate, but it wasn't like she got to talk to Jim that often anymore, and if he was still going to quit, the clock was ticking She hadn't planned on asking him to hang out – whatever that meant – but it was out now.
“Definitely,” said Jim. “We'll do that.”
“Great.”
Jim gave her a cute little nervous motion with his hand before leaving Pam alone in the kitchen. She watched the door for a moment before lowering her gaze to the yogurt and spoon she held in each hand. She let out a little sigh.
The cup was empty. Break time was over.
.....
