Disclaimer: I do not own the office. NBC does.
I decided to make this story because there aren't very many Jim/OCs on this site because I'm guessing that people are delusionally in love with the thought of PB&J. I'm just going to tell you now that my alternate universe doesn't agree with the idea of them together. If something is in italics and centered that means that it's a "talking head" segment, just like in the show. FYI, Pam is still in NY and this takes place after right after the Michael Scott Paper Company gets bought out.
Jim
"Things were back to normal in Scranton. Pam and I didn't really work out, but the odd thing about it was that I didn't really mind. We're back to being friends and I'm fine with that. Today at the office, we're getting a new salesman who I will hopefully get along with because they will be sitting next to me and across from Dwight."
"Alright everyone. The addition to our family will be arriving very soon. One of the top salesmen from New York." Dwight raised his hand to ask one of his stupid questions.
"Question. If he was top in New York, why did he get sent to Scranton?" Michael looked at the camera before answering.
"David Wallace thinks it would be good for us to get a boost." And with that Michael went back to his office and we all got back to work with the exception of Kevin. He was getting candy from reception.
In the corner of my eye, I saw someone enter the office and being as unfocused as I am, I turned to look. It was a woman, a tall and very attractive woman. She held her hand out for Erin to shake.
"Hi, I'm Danielle Costas." Michael made his way over to her, about to introduce himself, but Kevin spoke first.
"Michael said you were a man." She raised her eyebrows at Kevin, not really knowing what to say.
"Corporate must've misspelled your name." Michael stated trying to cover up his mistake. He held out his hand for her to shake.
"I'm Michael Scott. Regional Manager of the lovely Dunder Mifflin Scranton. " After shaking his hand she looked at him expectantly, probably waiting for him to introduce her or at least lead her to her desk.
"Sooooo, Costas. Isn't that a Greek last name?" She nodded.
"My grandfather's from Greece." Michael seemed astonished and I knew then that he was about to say something stupid.
"There are black people in Greece?" Her well groomed brows furrowed at his ignorance.
"There are black people everywhere, including Greece, but my grandfather is not one of them. He moved to Harlem and married my black grandmother and together they had my father and due to the lack of cultural diversity in Harlem, he ended up marrying my black mother." It was obvious that Michael was fascinated with her family tree.
"Wow, so now that it's legal, do you see yourself following in your grandmother's footsteps?" She looked down at the floor with an annoyed expression. He was obviously prying too far into her personal life within the first two minutes of meeting her.
"Oh, I don't know." And that was the story of the 4th woman who held my interest to be harassed by Michael upon their arrival.
Danielle
"Do I like it here? I don't know. It's my first day, I have no time to stop and smell the roses."
Jim
"It's been six months since Pam broke up with me. She wanted to stay in New York…permanently and she didn't see how that could happen if she still had a boyfriend in Scranton. So, here I am, single, living in the house I grew up in with a $5,000 representation of what could've been." I held up the wedding ring I planned to propose to Pam with. "I just never got the opportune moment."
I had been looking at Danielle frequently for the past three hours and I've learned that she's very driven. She's been handling Ryan's clients from the Michael Scott Paper Company, seeing as he got demoted back to being a temp after the merger. Everyone got their old clients back, but she has all the new ones Ryan acquired.
She has a very fashionable sense of style, something Kelly will go berserk over once she sees it. Her hair was in a ponytail and it was very curly and a rich dark chocolaty color. Her eyes were surrounded by a thin line of eyeliner, her lids shimmered with eyeshadow and her lashes coated with mascara. Her lips were sheen, but didn't appear to have any artificial color on their vast surface. Her nose was adorned with a tiny sparkly stud that I found rather interesting for a woman with an office job.
When she finally spoke to me, I was caught off guard.
"Hey, what time does lunch start around here?" I looked at the clock that read 12:47, lunch didn't start for another 13 minutes.
"Uh, about now actually." She grinned, bringing her green eyes to their full potential.
"Good, 'cause I'm starving." After getting up and heating her food in the microwave we sat in the break room to eat our lunches. Me with my usual ham sandwich and her with a mouth watering baked potato with the works.
"Why isn't anyone else coming to eat?" Knowing I was caught, I confessed.
"Lunch here in Scranton doesn't start until one. I guess I just wanted to get a head start before everyone else got here." She smirked before putting down her fork and extending her hand to me.
"I'm Danielle." I took her hand giving it a few pumps before letting go.
"I'm Jim." She took a sip of her Green Tea before throwing a question my way.
"Is Michael always so strange?" I smiled.
"If you're referring to him hitting on you, then yes. Don't worry, it'll only get worse." She paled at that information as much as a woman with a complexion matching my paper bag could.
"Let me warn you though. He's very immature. So just go along with what he says, but whatever you do, don't encourage him."
"Thanks for the advice." The predatory Jim inside me wanted to flirt with Danielle, but the sensible Jim wanted to know if she was dating before taking that step.
"As for him hitting on you, that won't stop, even if he's aware that you're spoken for." She turned her body to me a bit more.
"What if you're not spoken for? Is it worse?" I shook my head no.
"Significantly." She laughed at my physical betrayal.
"Well then, I need to get a boyfriend soon." My ego reared its ugly head for the first time since Pam. She was flirting back.
In moments, the rest of the office joined us and they filled up the seats faster than ever before. Erin, Andy, Kelly and Ryan all made room at our table, postponing my ego trip.
Danielle
The pretty Indian girl introduced herself first.
"I'm Kelly." Then the receptionist whose name I would've known by now if Michael hadn't interrupted me earlier.
"I'm Erin." Next was the really preppy guy that I doubted I would get along with. I mean I dress like this for work, but I'm sure he dresses like that everywhere else too. I wonder if he owned a pair of jeans or even a t shirt.
"I am Andy Bernard." And finally the guy in the fedora who was giving me a pretty feisty stink eye.
"I'm Ryan." He glared harder before continuing. "The temp." He said that last part in resentment. I ignored his attitude and introduced myself.
"I'm Daniell-"
"You took my job." My mouth was parted in surprise at Ryan's outburst. I looked among their faces to see if my reaction was appropriate or if he was just joking. Furrowed eyebrows were all sported by Jim, Erin and Andy. Kelly looked apologetic, so she tried to cover his tracks.
"Now he works in the Annex with me." Her friends were sure to follow, Erin first.
"Well, I'm the receptionist obviously." Then Andy.
"I work in Sales with you and the Tuna." I raised an eyebrow at that nickname and sent a smirk in Jim's direction before returning my gaze at Andy so he could finish his introduction.
"And let me tell you, Tuna and I are the friendliest in Sales, so if you need any help, we're your go-to-guys." I nodded in thanks before finishing up my Green Tea.
"Oh my god, I love your vest, where do you shop?" I smiled at Kelly's genuine interest.
"For work, I shop at H&M, Banana Republic and Burlington Coat Factory in New York, oh, and Macy's too." Her eyes seemed to bulge at the news.
"Oh my god! Do you wanna go shopping this week?" I hesitated before answering.
"Oh, I can't. I'm a really slow unpacker, so I don't know when I'll ever be done." She seemed to take the rejection with a grain of salt.
"Oh, ok. Just hit me up whenever you're done." I nodded my head in promise.
Back at our desks Jim had a taunting look in his eyes.
"What?" He held back a smile.
"You're a horrible liar." I gave him a curious look, urging him to continue.
"Slow Packer?" I scoffed at him.
"That was mostly true." He rested his chin on his fist, patiently waiting for me to explain. "I only unpack the essentials, the rest comes out whenever I step out of my critical lazy spell and for all she knows, that could take months. Plus, I just moved. I don't have as much money as I used to. Not to mention, I've got a feeling her shrill voice uses the term 'Oh my god!' a little too much for my liking." We both laughed at my reasoning knowing it was true.
"HA HA HA! Oh yes! Make fun of your co-workers your first day on the job." The guy across from me glared at Jim before turning to me.
"You're falling into the wrong hands." It was official. Glasses guy creeped me out.
"Who are you?" He held his hand out for me to shake.
"Dwight K. Shrute. Assistant Regional Manager of Dunder Mifflin Scranton." Jim butted in as our hands parted.
"Assistant TO THE Regional Manager." I smiled. The addition to those two small words does make the status less significant.
"I'm Danielle…" And for the second time today I was interrupted while introducing myself.
"Costas. Born June 26th, 1985 in Harlem, New York to Linda and Demetri Costas. You are the fifth out of five children. You went to business school in Chicago and graduated at the top of your class despite your hatred for Capitalism. And I quote 'The world is full of bigots and greedy people. If one does not wish to compete, they will surely be doomed. The serfs are merely slaves to the bourgeoisie and the status quo'…"
"Has no room for freedom.' A quote from my thesis. Very creepy Dwight." He looked indifferent at invading my privacy.
"Oh don't be so surprised. No one sits two feet across from me without getting a background check."
"Everyone listen up! We will be celebrating the arrival of our newest member on Friday so that the rest of you losers can get to know her better. I know I've been hogging her." Jim and I exchanged a confused look.
At the end of the day, Jim was nice enough to walk me to my car.
"Sorry about Dwight. Lucky for you, I will always be there to monitor your conversations." I smiled up at him.
"Thank you. He makes me ashamed to wear glasses." He gave a small laugh at that. I unlocked my door and readied myself to get in.
"Good Night Danielle."
"See you tomorrow Jim." I drove off cursing myself for getting a crush on my first day.