Normally Michael would be in charge of job listings, but Daryl quickly learned that it would take an extra month to get done if he sent them to him. So, Daryl would send them to Pam.
She stared at her screen.
What had happened?
Was Roy gone? Did he leave or was he fired? Where would he go? All his family lived in Scranton so it's not like he would just up and leave. And why was she so concerned?
She looked around the office, things seemed quiet. She set the phone to voice mail and quietly stepped out of the room. She made her way down to the warehouse, pausing as she opened the door.
Everything looked like business as usual. Nothing seemed out of place. She quietly walked to Daryl's office. He was typing at his computer when she opened the door.
"Hey Daryl," She started.
"Hey Pam," he replied as he finished typing.
"I got your email," She said. "We need a new warehouse worker?"
He looked at her. "Roy didn't tell you?" She stammered for a moment before he continued, "Of course he wouldn't. Since you… you know."
"He wasn't fired, was he?" She asked, a flash of panic hitting her.
"No," he said, leaning back in his chair. "He came in here last night as I was closing up and said he was done."
"Really?" She asked.
"Mhm."
"Did he…" Her voice trailed off.
"Say it was because of you?" He finished. He smirked as he leaned forward. "Not in so many words."
Pam stared at the ground for a moment, a feeling of guilt hitting her. She wasn't sure why. Daryl noted the look on her face.
"He did say that he had a few better opportunities he wanted to explore." She looked at him.
"He did?"
He nodded. After a beat he added "...and that now there was nothing holding him back." Pam looked to the ground again. She wasn't sure how she felt. Part of her was glad he was gone, but knowing she was the reason ate at her.
"He's messed up, Pam. He's sad." He stood taking a step toward her and placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. "But he'll bounce back."
She gave him a small smile before she left his office.
She walked back into the office feeling odd. Roy was gone. He was gone. She didn't know how she felt. This is what she wanted, right? To close the chapter. To make it clear this was the end. And it was, so why did it feel so strange.
She sat at her desk and thumbed a paperclip in her hand as she stared at his name on the employee contact list, almost whispering a silent goodbye to it in her head. Goodbye to the birthdays and Christmases, goodbye to eleven years of memories, goodbye to the man she fell in love with in high school. And goodbye to the fighting. Goodbye to broken dishes and holes in walls (and the new dent in her car). Goodbye to feeling like she's never good enough. It provided some comfort.
It wasn't until she felt him at her desk that she broke from her trance.
"Daydreaming again, Beesly?" Jim smiled.
In an instant the strange feeling was gone, replaced by a warmth that only her best friend could create. She looked up at him, smiling.
"Guilty." She said warmly.
"So look at this," She said, motioning to the monitor. "We're hiring in the warehouse." Jim looked at her, a second of confusion on his face before he realized.
"Roy's gone." She said.
His face was a mix of happiness and confusion. "What happened?" He asked.
Pam shrugged her shoulders. "Don't know." She said. "He told Daryl yesterday that he was done." Jim stared at her for a moment.
"Are you okay?" He asked her.
She looked at her keyboard. "I mean," she shrugged again. "He obviously left because of what I said." She raised her eyes to Jim. "But that was kind of the point, right?"
He nodded as he grabbed a jelly bean out of the jar.
"So," she continued. "Chapter closed."
He paused, smiling at her as he chewed. "Chapter closed." He agreed.
That night they sat in the living room eating takeout with Mark before his date.
"Dude why are you eating before a date?" Jim asked as he picked up another crab rangoon.
Mark looked at him dumbfounded. "Because you got takeout from Great Wall." He said. "And I'd much rather fill up on this than salmon fromage frais and carrot consommé." He mocked the french words as he stuffed a teriyaki chicken into his mouth.
"Follow up question," Jim teased, "Why do you always go out with girls that make you take them to the most expensive restaurants?"
Mark chuckled. "Lobster dinner baby." Jim scoffed, rolling his eyes.
Pam looked at the both of them, confused. "What's a lobster dinner have to do with anything?"
Jim shook his head, "It's… uhhh… nothing." He said. "It means nothing."
She elbowed him. "Tell me!" she said.
"It's a guy thing." Mark said. "It's a gross guy thing." Jim added. Pam rolled her eyes at the both of them, clicking her tongue.
"Come on, tell me. I can take it." She said, a small pout forming on her lips. Jim sighed.
"It- it's a thing that guys joke about." Jim started, "The more expensive dinner you buy a girl-"
"The more likely she is to put out." Mark finished. Pam's jaw opened in shock. She threw a pillow at Mark.
"That's disgusting." she said, chuckling.
"I know." They said in unison; Jim's tone a sad one, conflicting with Mark's laughter.
After a minute, Pam was twirling her fork in her low mein noodles. "So how much do you plan on spending tonight then, Casanova?"
Mark smiled up at her from his plate. "Oh, A lot."
"I hope you guys are going to her place then." She said quietly. Mark laughed in return.
They were cleaning up dinner when Jim brought Roy up. Just one last time, he figured. One last time, just to make sure she's really okay. One last time, and then he would never have to think about him again.
"So, he didn't say anything to you?" He asked. "He just left?"
She paused, it taking a moment to grasp who he was talking about. "Yup." She said, "After he left that beauty mark on my car he just walked away." She finished putting her left overs in a Tupperware before putting them in the fridge.
"I still can't believe he punched your car." Jim said chuckling, though there was a slight edge to his voice. "Who does that?"
Pam sighed. "It's not the worst he's ever done." She said. "He once broke one of my favorite lamps after an argument 'by accident'." She said with quotations.
Jim shook his head as he finished washing his hands. Pam stepped behind him then, wrapping her small arms around his frame and leaned her head against his back.
"But," she started. "Chapter closed, remember?" He smiled as he shut off the water, drying his hands. "Hell, maybe the whole damn book." She continued. "I think it's time to start writing a new one." She said, smiling into him. He turned in her arms, his hands falling on either side of her face. He placed a loving kiss on her lips.
Pam was putting on pajamas after her shower and Jim was laying on his bed, eagerly waiting for her.
"Also, I would just like to say that I've never done that." He said.
She chuckled, "Hey, professor random, give me some context." She said as she brushed out her tangled hair.
"The lobster dinner thing." He clarified.
She smiled at him as she set her brush down. "I figured as much." She said, giving him a peck on the lips before crawling into bed next to him. "That's definitely more of a Mark thing."
Jim smiled before he turned off the light and they slid under the covers.
She thought about what Mark had said. He was fairly crass, much more so than Jim. And she was sort of used to it by now.
Jim was far from crass, he was a perfect gentleman. She rarely, if ever, heard a swear fall from his mouth, or a harsh word from his lips, or forceful hand on her body. But she thought about the previous night. The 'Night of Three Times' as Jim lovingly called it. His words echoed in her mind.
"I want to feel you come around my cock." Just thinking about his words sent a heat pooling between her legs. That word. She wasn't a stranger to it, but like everything else, when the word was on Jim's lips, it was a different animal. That one request. That was what had made her climax harder than she could ever remember.
She inhaled, breathing him in as she lay wrapped up in his arms. She could hear his slow heartbeat and his steady breathing. She was hungry to chase it. To see what else he could make her do.
She decided against waking him, he was soundly sleeping and he did have a lunch meeting with an important client tomorrow.
Instead she rolled over and snuggled her backside into him. His arms instinctively wrapped around her tighter. And she let visions of Jim, all over her body, lull her to sleep.
Pam was sitting on the couch. Mark didn't seem to be home and the TV was off. She looked around to see the entire apartment dark and quiet. But not quiet like no one was home, no. It was dead quiet. No cars driving down the street, no clock ticking, no sound, nothing. Was this a dream?
She went to stand, but a dark voice echoed from the corner chair.
"Sit down."
The voice was dark, but smooth and warm. Like velvet. And she knew it was Jim. She slowly sat back down on the couch.
He stood from the chair in the corner, moving out of the shadow so she could see him. He was dressed in a plain black button down shirt and black slacks. She wasn't sure if he even owned a black button down. She looked down at herself and she was bare. Not even a bra. She instinctively went to cover herself.
"Don't." He barked.
She felt a pulse in her belly at his harsh tone. He slowly walked over to her and sat next to her on the couch. He looked into her eyes, there was a dark hue she had never seen before, but excited her.
"Stand up." He demanded. And she felt herself shudder. As she stood he grasped her hips to move her in front of him with her back turned. She looked over her shoulder. He was sitting behind her with a hunger in his eyes. She felt her arousal pool between her legs.
He sat forward on the couch as his foot nudged her ankles apart. She let out a throaty moan as his warm hand covered her core. One singular finger dipped in, circling her clit. Her breathing became faster.
"That's right." He said, a raspiness to his voice. "Get nice and wet for me like a good girl." She moaned at his words as she soaked his fingers. She could feel her orgasm already building.
"God, you get so wet for me." She rocked her hips trying to get more friction, and whimpered when he pulled his hand away.
She looked over her shoulder again.
"Eye's front." He growled. Something about his tone just turned her on more. When he grasped her hair and snapped her head back she yelped, but just felt more heat rising in her belly. "Are you going to listen?" He asked darkly.
"Yes." She breathed.
He released her hair. "Good."
Why was this so much of a turn on? If this was a dream, she didn't want to wake up.
She kept her eyes forward, but heard the clatter of him undoing his belt. She felt an excited electricity fill her body as she felt his hands firmly grasp her hips.
And then heard her alarm going off.
Pam opened her eyes. The clock read 6:45am. Time to get up.
Jim stretched next to her. She looked over at him, a hot red blush creeping into her cheeks.
"Morning." He said sleepily. He went in to kiss Pam on the forehead, but pulled back. "What's up?" He said, his tired eyes showing a hint of confusion.
"What?" She said.
"You're all sweaty and your face is red." She pressed a hand to her forehead feeling the dewiness there. "You okay?"
She cleared her throat. "Yeah, fine." She said.
"Bad dream?" He asked. She could feel her face get hotter. She tried her best to look confused.
"Umm," She started, "I don't remember." She concluded as she jumped out of bed to get ready for the day.
"Okay." He replied, following her with quizzical eyes.