The next day, when Pam got to work, Jim was already there. It was a normal morning, they said hi, Pam sat down to answer phone calls, and Jim made calls to his customers. The rest of the office, subdued by the slow Thursday morning, was too tired for its usual drama. Even Michael just sat in his office, half asleep as he stared out the window. But Jim was plenty awake. And curious. He had to try something. And he’d waited for the perfect moment to do it.
Pam was popping a jellybean from the bowl on her desk into her mouth when Jim approached her. He leaned over her desk, peering at her computer.
“Watcha doing?” he asked slowly, dragging the words out as if he were extremely bored.
“Nothing…” Pam replied almost suspiciously. Her eyes seemed to linger on Jim’s tie, blue with silvery thin stripes.
“Well, I’m just coming over here because I want to ask you to come over for dinner tonight. I’m making salad, lasagna, and brownies.”
Jim was in fact making none of these things. These weren’t even things he knew how to make. But this was the line.
“Umm, sounds good, I guess,” Pam stuttered, her face flushing. She tried to look away, but Jim kept his gaze on her steady.
“And it’s supposed to rain, so we should leave early,” Jim continued confidently. That’s when Pam made a break for it. “Um, I need to use the bathroom,” she said a bit too loudly, and stood abruptly, striding away. Jim watched her pull the bathroom door open and disappear inside.
“So it works,” he whispered to himself. This was interesting indeed.
Author's Chapter Notes:
This chapter won't make sense when you first read it, I'm sorry. The next chapter explains what Jim found on Pam's computer, and why Pam got so flushed.
