She imagines it happening differently. She finds out he's leaving, for real, and she jumps up, and runs to him, and kisses him, and throws her arms around him and holds onto him, hard, and when she sees everybody staring in shock she shouts, "There's nothing wrong with it!" and when he looks at her in surprise she says, "It was my fault. Don't go. It's my turn to protect you."
Her pride is safe. Her self-image is safe.
But his desk is empty.
He is so glad she's here. Really. She is beautiful, and she has more than just an appearance of intelligence, and she's totally into him. She followed him all the way from Connecticut—heck, she moved all the way from Connecticut for him. She wasn't sure how he felt, and she took a chance anyway, and he admires her for that. He likes her. A lot.
Then why was the first answer he gave her a lie?
Looking back, he thinks that the reason he asked to take the lead was only partially connected to his desire for more experience and for a critique from someone who'd been in the field longer. Truth was, he never thought Stanley was much of a salesman. He didn't show much interest in his job. He seemed…well, kind of boring. Maybe sales would be boosted by a little fresh energy.
He will never live this down.
She's used to the severe buns and the even more severe set of the mouth, the unflappable control, the harsh condemning rigidity. This smiling blond is an entirely different person. She could be friends with her. And she feels the need for friends, especially now that her lunches are almost as lonely as her dinners. She thinks about Dwight's exaggerated chivalry the night of the luau and about how people sometimes turned out to be different than what you thought they were.
She wishes Angela could be like this all the time.
The flattery is starting to wear a little thin. He already knows he's the best boss ever. It's not like he needs his ego stroked constantly. Does Andy think he's an infant? And the man is clueless on sales calls, and has all the subtlety awareness of…a mallet. Not like the entourage, the guys he can always count on. True, there was that one time. But it was just one time. He'd almost forgotten why Dwight was doing his laundry until Andy asked about it.
He doesn't miss the squabbling over who was number three. But if he hears one more compliment this afternoon, he'll be almost positive he made the wrong choice.
He taps a bobblehead and sighs.