Chapter One- Perfect Victim

Beep beep beep beep! Jim's eyes immediately opened and he quickly shut off the alarm. "How is it 7:30 already?", Jim thought. It was Jim's first day at a new job. He wasn't all too thrilled to become a paper salesman but he desperately needed to get a job. Hopefully this was only temporary. Jim had no major expectations at this job. He had already met the manager, Michael Scott, and just that encounter alone almost made him decline the job. Jim had assumed he would be doing the interview at the actual office but no, Michael had insisted they do the interview at Chili's. "It's where all the cool kids go these days." Michael had said.

Jim finally got the strength to climb out of bed and take a shower. He got dressed and made a quick breakfast of toast and a glass of orange juice. He wasn't really all that hungry. It's hard to think about food when your stomach is in knots. Jim isn't one to get nervous to often but something about this job and the manager had him worried this would not be just a normal job.

Jim glanced at the clock. It was 8:32. It would take about ten minutes to get there and he needed some time to get settled in. So Jim finished off his orange juice, grabbed his suit jacket and messenger bag and headed out the door. It was a cool October morning but Jim didn't mind it. He preferred the cold. It really helped him clear his head and prepare for the day to come.

Jim pulled into the Scranton Business Park at 8:45. There were already three other cars in the parking lot. A silver Sebring, which he already knew belonged to Michael. There was also a gold Honda and a maroon 1987 Pontiac Trans Am. Jim knew he would soon meet the owners of those vehicles. He walked into the building and rode the elevator to the second floor. Once there, he walked towards suite 200 and saw the sign for Dunder Mifflin Paper Company. Jim began feeling anxious again. "Pull it together Halpert!", he said to himself. He grabbed the door handle, turned it and stepped into the office. He looked up and his heart immediately started racing.

She was absolutely beautiful. Jim had never seen such a beautiful woman in his life. She had curly auburn hair, half of it clipped back. She had the most gorgeous green eyes and her smile seemed to light up the entire office. Jim knew in that moment that he was exactly where he was meant to be and that for whatever reason, this moment was monumental. Jim was about to introduce himself when he heard,

"Jimbo! Jim, Jim, Jim! Aaah you're here, you are finally here! I can't believe it. Pam...Pam look it's him. It's Jim. I told you about him remember? Do you remember Pam?"

"Yes Michael", said Pam, "I remember."

"Yes great well Pam, I leave him in your care. Show him around and to his new desk. And don't scare him off. He is going to be an essential member of this family!"

"Family?", said Jim.

Pam replied, "Yeah Michael has this fantasy that this office is one big happy family."

"Ah" said Jim, "Well then I am definitely the cool uncle."

"Ha nice", said Pam, "So you probably already know from Michael's rambling but I'm Pam. I'm the receptionist."

"Well Pam, it is a pleasure to meet you. And as you know, I'm Jim, the new salesman. Or as I'd prefer to call myself, the cool uncle."

Jim and Pam shook hands and once again Jim's heart began to race. Something about Pam just made him go crazy. Her hands were soft and small in his giant hand. But her hand being in his seemed so perfect. How could this be? They just met moments ago.

"Okay so let's start the tour!" Pam said, breaking Jim away from this thoughts.

"Uh yeah right the tour. Let's get this started." Jim replied.

"Okay so remember this moment because you will never be able to go back to a time before you met your desk mate Dwight."

"Um okay...?" Jim said. Jim approached his new desk and set his stuff down. He then put his hand out to greet his new desk mate, which he now knew was named Dwight. "Hi Dwight I'm..." Jim started before he was cut off.

"Stop right there!" said Dwight in a not so friendly tone. "I am the superior salesman in the office. I do not make friends except for Michael. I am the Assistant regional manager and..."

"To the" said Pam. Dwight gave Pam an angry look, cleared his throat and said,

"Fine. Assistant TO THE regional manager. And I don't plan on making friends with my inferiors. So expect nothing more and nothing less than us being acquaintances."

"Dwight" came a voice from behind Dwight. The voice belonged to a plump middle aged woman.

"You can't call your co-workers inferior. That's just not nice. We work hard just like you."

"I only state facts Phyllis. And you and I both know that you and Stanley do not work hard. At least not as hard as I. I am alpha male. I am superior and I will always be number one salesman!"

"Yeah okay so" interrupted Pam turning to Jim, "You now know who Phyllis and Stanley are and just know I am sorry that you now can't take back meeting Dwight."

"Yeah I totally did not expect that. And I'm going to jump out on a limb here and guess he owns a 1987 Pontiac Trans Am?" Pam giggled.

"Hey!" yelled Dwight, "That car is better than any car you own or will ever own."

"Okay Dwight, we are moving on now." said Pam.

Pam finished showing Jim around the office. He met everyone. There were a few more oddballs but no one could compare to Dwight. What was his deal? Jim sat down at his desk, started up his computer and got settled in. Michael had given him a list of ten leads to get him started. Jim immediately got to work. He didn't want to leave any time open for Dwight to start up with him again.

That morning Jim was able to get five definite sales, one decline, and four maybes. He would check back with them the next day. While Jim had a little bit of free time he noticed that Dwight was very organized. He kept most of his things in his drawer and locked it. Jim thought this was weird seeing as it wasn't even his personal belongings he kept locked away. Anything personal was presented on top of his desk. Jim caught a glimpse of where Dwight kept his key. When Dwight left for a sales call, Jim unlocked his drawer and pulled out his stapler. Jim had the perfect prank in mind. And Dwight seemed like the perfect victim. Maybe this new job wouldn't be so bad after all.