Michael got through the week, business as usual. He had an important conference call with David that he half suspected that Pam was listening in on, but he didn't worry about that. He was sure he made a great impression. That was him- the master of impressions. He could win anyone over, he was sure of it, with a few kind words, a joke or two, and as long as he set the tone with a positive attitude then who could walk away with a less than positive impression of him, no matter what the subject was? In all of his years' experience as businessman and manager, that sort of attitude had never failed him. That was what separated the winners from the losers. And he was definitely a winner.
Maybe he was too much of a winner. That might be why some of his staff and colleagues didn't always appreciate him. Some people were just natural born winners. That was he, Michael Scott. He might not have gone to Cornell but he sure worked his way up in his field, and that was in his opinion harder than going to school. That meant he had earned respect, not bought it like you would a degree. You can't just buy the love and trust of the people you work with, you have to work hard and be a person worth trusting and worth respecting, and yes, he would go as far to say it, worth loving. Take Michael himself. He didn't love paper, but he loved the people. And that's the attitude that made him stand out from everyone else, that's what made David Wallace call him to New York to ask "What is it that Scranton is doing differently than everyone else?" That's what makes Michael him.
"Hey hey hey guys, guess what today is?" Michael asked excitedly.
No one looked up.
"It's Fri-day. Fri-day. Time to partay. Time to get down and get down town. Who's with me? Anyone? Everyone?"
"I would, Michael, but I have an appointment. I could always try to cancel," Dwight said, looking more at Angela than at Michael. She shot him a dirty look, shaking her head no.
"No, forget it Dwight. How about you, Jim. You in?"
Jim looked up. "I'm sorry Michael. Maybe if you would have asked earlier…Pam and I have plans… it's sort of our anniversary. We've been talking about it all week."
"Well cancel them, that's an executive order," Michael smiled.
"No, Michael, Jim and I are not cancelling our anniversary. Again," Pam spoke up as she shut down her computer. She grabbed her sweater and left, with Jim following suit.
"Okay, boy, that's one reason I'm still single, no one to boss me around like that," Michael laughed, while no one else did. "Speaking of bosses, did I not mention that I'm still your boss, and as such I highly recommend that everyone join me for happy hour? It's your review week next week."
Toby was walking out the door but happened to overhear that. "Michael, I don't think you can threaten your employees with bad reviews if they don't go out with you."
"Oh what do you know? Just go home to your family..that's right, you have no family to go home to."
Michael looked at the rest of the office. "Well then, I suppose that's about it for this week. Good job guys, I'll be at Poor Richards. No pressure or anything. See you. Bye. Take care. "
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Two hours later, he slowly realized that no one had came to hang out with him. Not even Dwight. He thought for sure he would cancel his plans-whatever they were, he didn't want to know what they were, to be with him. As much as he hated to admit it he was disappointed. Now he knew where he stood with his office family. They weren't his family. They all had real family and friends to hang out with while he was all alone. Would it be like this forever?
It wasn't fair. He was a simple man with simple pleasures. He enjoyed the company of a nice girl now and then, though he had to admit that being a man in his position meant that it was harder to meet women than he cared to admit. He could easily see himself settled down with a wife and a couple of kids in five years. He'd have friends popping over with a present for the baby and to take pictures and to try to ask his wife's permission to get Michael out of the house to go Kareokeing with them on Friday night. He could totally see that happening.
He looked across the room and saw a beautiful blonde staring at him. Good. He liked blondes. Too bad Pam wasn't a blonde. He'd asked her to color her hair once but all that resulted in was the silent treatment for the rest of the day. He hated the silent treatment.
Michael walked across the woman and smiled. "Wow you look great tonight!"
"Thank you," she smiled back.
"I mean it… that dress really makes your…"
"Excuse me…"
"No I mean it, it really calls attention to your gigantic breasts. You must have all the guys hitting on you," Michael stared.
"Just the morons," the woman slapped Michael across the face then walked away.
What did he do? He was just giving her a compliment. If he was a woman he would like hearing that. Maybe he would never meet a woman. Maybe his coworkers would never want to hang out with him. It looked like tonight he was destined to be alone.
Suddenly he had the worst, most terrible idea of his life. He got in his car and headed across town to Lucky's, the bar from last weekend. What he hoped to find there, he had no idea.