Making her way to The Bay Mirror building, Phoebe had a feeling that she would find it excruciatingly hard to concentrate today. Due to some strange logic, Phoebe felt that to escape her own temporarily unsolvable problem, she would try to solve someone else's.
The workroom was already packed with her co-workers, each too busy in their issues to notice her entrance. In a way she was thankful for her apparent invisibility – the last thing Phoebe wanted to deal with this morning were the morning pleasantries. They were nice enough, but Phoebe didn't feel like a 'Good morning!' with a shrill voice and obvious fake smile, when she didn't really mean what she was saying.
Quickly pacing to her office, closing the door and shutting the blinds, she collapsed in her chair, resting her head in the arms, succumbing to her somewhat hopeless situation.
Taking a deep breath, she looked up to her computer screen, turned it on and waited for the monitor to respond. There came a knock at the door, and Phoebe was pleased at the interruption of her constant and unfaltering thoughts of Coop.
"Come in." Phoebe half-yelled. Her gratification to the stranger dissipated when Michael appeared through her door.
"Hey Phoebe," Michael said, closing the door behind him. Phoebe inwardly groaned, but maintained a civil visage.
"Michael. What can I do for you?" Phoebe asked, suddenly preferring the musings of Coop over pleasantries with Michael.
"Well, I didn't like the way we left it last night and I just wanted to apologise." Michael said, perching on the chair opposite her.
"Oh. Really? Well, thanks. Apology accepted." Phoebe smiled. Maybe he isn't so bad after all… which means Coop may have been right. A few moments of awkward silence passed before Phoebe said, "Is there something else?"
"Well, I was wondering if you maybe wanted to give it another try. Maybe we could go to my place. Things didn't end the way I expected them to last night." He grinned suggestively. It was all Phoebe could do not to barf right there and then.
Ok, so he is a moron and Coop was wrong. "Oh, I'm sorry Michael, but that is just not going to happen."
"Didn't think so. Ah well, worth a shot. There are plenty more fine fish in the sea." Michael did a small 'reeling them in' motion as Phoebe got up from her chair to push him out of her office.
"Wait," Michael stopped, half way out the door. "I know I'm not the perfect guy, but I recognise when a bloke's in love. The only reason I asked you out, beside the thought of getting some," Phoebe rolled her eyes, disgusted. "Was because your matchmaker gave me a never-ending list of perfect things about you. I said yes to shut him up." Phoebe stood speechless. "I told him he should be the one asking you out, but he said something about it being against his company's rules. But I can tell he has the hots for you Phoebe, and I can see why." Michael wriggled his eyebrows suggestively, looking her up and down.
"Ok, get out of here." She pushed him out the door. Aside from the way Michael said it, she couldn't believe what she head. Leaning against the door for support, she took a deep breath. Oh my god, he does love me.