Chapter #2: Slow day
The first weeks at the office went by kind of slowly. Your initial tasks were very simple, such as helping others file and organize their documents, and you would also help out by making copies of whatever was needed in the annex. The only memorable moments during this time were the conference meetings you attended, which were mostly run by Michael. They helped make work go by a little faster, but you weren't too concerned because he wasn't someone you should worry about
It also helped that your coworkers, minus Dwight, seemed relaxed during the meetings and didn't seem to care if someone got embarrassed by Michael in front of them. You had been getting along with them as well as you'd expected when you first met them; you were just happy that they didn't show any signs of hating you.
The only one you spent a lot of time with was Toby, naturally, since he was basically your direct boss besides Michael. Since you were working in Human Resources as his assistant, one of your daily tasks was to help him go over the tons of complaints filed about Jim. You'd file complaints about other people too, of course, but they were really rare compared to the amount you got from Dwight. Other times you'd simply attend the conference meetings to take notes whenever Toby was too busy, and then talk about it with him once it was over.
However, since Toby was the closest person to you in the office, the meetings seemed better when he took those with you. Being too shy to try to sit next to someone else, you'd always grab the seat next to him. Even though you didn't know him very well, he was still the only person you knew wouldn't be bothered by your presence.
Today was going to be a long day.
You were in the bullpen, getting some documents that Toby had asked you to copy when you overheard Stanley talking to Pam at her desk.
"I don't want to stay until seven again this year."
"I don't really have any control over that, Stanley," Pam replied.
They seemed listless during their short conversation, and it made you wonder what they were referring to. Rather than going to Pam's desk and asking her about it, you felt more comfortable with just asking Toby once you got the copies ready. Once you went back to the annex, you decided to sit on his desk to hand him the copies and ask about what you had heard earlier.
"Hey Mr. Flenderson, I got the documents copied, and I can get them filed now unless you need me for something else," you told him, sitting on his desk. You could tell he wasn't expecting you to sit there like that, since he directed his gaze at your legs for a second when he first turned around, before looking at your face.
"Thanks, Andy," he sounded a bit embarrassed, hoping you didn't notice him looking at your legs. "And, uh, there's no need for formalities anymore, you know? You can just call me Toby."
"Sure, then Toby it is," you said as you stood up and started walking toward your desk, having felt awkward from his gaze at you. You didn't want to seem the type of person who'd want to attract their boss' attention that way. "So, Toby," you continued, "I heard some people talking about having to stay late today. Is there something going on?"
"No, not exactly. It's just that Michael's supposed to sign some forms every quarter so that they can get shipped once a year. But he always ends up signing all of them at once the same day they need to get shipped..." His face showed how his mood began to drop after saying that. "Since they're mandatory, we can't leave until he finishes."
"Wait, what?" You couldn't hide the fact that you were annoyed from your voice. "Why should that affect us if it's his responsibility?"
"Well, the forms require each department in the branch to revise them and then get them signed by the manager, so it also falls to us to deliver them on time," he sighed. "But you shouldn't stress over that, though. The only people who would really need to stay are the heads of each department, so you can go home at five. I'll deal with Michael, I'm already used to him doing this every year."
You tried to lift his mood a bit. "Oh, no, don't worry about it. I know staying late sucks, especially if it's not your fault. Plus, it's probably a lot more boring if it's just you with a few other people around. I wouldn't be able to call myself a good assistant if I didn't make an effort to handle Michael as well."
Toby giggled. "Ar-Are you sure? I mean, I could certainly use some help trying to convince him to sign the reports, and it would also be easier to stay here longer if I had someone to talk to..." He tried to hide it, but you could tell he lightened up a bit. His eyes seemed to show some excitement about the thought of spending more time with you.
"I'm sure. To be honest, I don't have much to do back at home anyway, so I might as well try to be helpful here." You smiled at him and proceeded to organize the documents after handing him the copies.
You didn't know why, but staying late at work didn't seem so bad. Normally, you would have been angry about being affected by someone else's irresponsibility, but this time it felt different. You started thinking it might be because you were staying with Toby, but that thought seemed absurd to you. You had only known him for a few weeks, but you had already grown to like him. He was kind to you, and although he was much older than you, you still found him cute in his own way.
You saw Ryan enter the annex carrying some sort of document and a pen. He approached you and requested your emergency contact information. Not knowing whom to provide as your emergency contact, you simply gave him your mother's phone number. When he asked Toby for his emergency contact, you overheard him mentioning something about his ex-wife. This made you feel uneasy, but you chose not to let it affect you too much. It seemed reasonable for him to have been married, given he was probably in his late thirties, especially after having noticed the photograph of a little girl on his desk. You hadn't questioned him about it earlier, fearing you might seem nosy; however, now you were able to connect the dots and figure that the child from the photo must be his daughter, with his ex-wife being her mother.
Even though knowing he'd been in a long-term relationship before had bummed you out, you just couldn't think of any reasons why someone would leave him. The past relationships you'd been in were only a few months long, and it was always the other person's decision to end it. Having known Toby for only a few weeks, you could already tell he was a much nicer person than the people you dated in the past.
I should stop thinking about him this way, you thought.
It was half past twelve, and none of the forms had been signed yet. You were sitting at your desk when you saw Michael enter the kitchen and start an argument with Dwight, who was talking to Kelly. A moment later she entered the annex, trying to hold back her laughter.
"Pssst! Kelly!" you whispered, and she approached your desk. "What's happening over there with those two?"
"Okay, so, this crazy thing happened earlier.," she said excitedly, talking as fast as usual. "Dwight punched Michael, twice! I didn't really see it, even though I kinda wish I had because it was loud, and Michael seemed like he was really in pain. So just now, he was telling Dwight that he wants a fight, can you believe it? They'll probably have their fight later today, in case you wanted to see it."
"Alright, so I'm guessing this is another way for Michael to avoid his responsibilities for today." You sighed.
Toby got up from his desk and headed to the kitchen. "Hey, Michael," he said as he opened the door. "Any word on those time cards?"
"Hey, Toby," Michael said, interrupting Toby. "Hey, you know what? I have an idea. Why don't you leave right now? Why don't you walk away from the room, okay?"
You saw Toby getting back to the annex. After noticing that you had heard how Michael raised his voice to him, he felt embarrassed and then approached you.
"I'm sorry, Andy." The defeat showed through his voice. "I tried to get him to get back on the reports, but there's just no getting through to him."
"It's okay," you reassured him. "I've been here for less than a month, but I already know how difficult he can be with these things. And I've also made up my mind about having to buy something from the vending machine later." You laughed, and then you felt a sense of relief from Toby.
"Heh, yeah. I'm glad he didn't scare you off this job... It's been nice having you around here." He smiled, and you couldn't help but smile back at him.
He went back to his desk, and you continued working. A minute later, Pam entered the room and announced that Michael and Dwight were going to fight later during lunch. Part of you thought it would be fun to go watch the fight, but you figured it would be better to just stay since Toby told you he didn't think the fight was a good idea. However, Michael had given you an extra hour of lunch just so the people could drive to the dojo and be there for the fight, so you also had more time to relax.
When lunchtime came, almost everyone had left except for Stanley and Angela, who were still working. You heard Kelly and Ryan talking about going out together and saw them leave. Since the others were in the bullpen, you were left alone with Toby in the annex.
You got up and approached Toby. "Well, it's lunchtime. I'm gonna go grab my food, do you want anything from the kitchen?"
"No, thank you." He replied, still seated. You nodded and started heading toward the kitchen, hearing his voice again as you opened the door. "Hey, Andy..." He said as he stood up and walked towards you. "Actually, um, since we have more time for our lunch, I was wondering if you'd like to go grab a coffee with me," he said nervously. "I mean, I know you have your food, so it's okay if you want to just eat that instead."
Seriously, how cute can this man be? You wondered as you saw him being so shy around you. That single thought made you feel some sort of happiness, but again, you convinced yourself he was just asking you to go out as coworkers, not believing he could be interested in you.
"Sure. This will save me from getting awful chips from the vending machine later, so this works out!" you smiled at him, trying not to show too much excitement. "Also, I love coffee, and I haven't really tried many places here in Scranton. Do you have any place in mind?"
"I, uh..." He stuttered. It was clear to you that he hadn't expected you to say yes. "I hadn't thought of any in particular, but there's this cafe nearby that's also a bookstore. I go there a lot when I just want to have a relaxing time reading, so it'd be nice." He paused for a moment before continuing. "Their coffee is also really great."
He seemed so happy and nervous just at the thought of the two of you going out together, even if it was just a small cafe. You weren't gonna lie to yourself; you were probably as nervous as he was. After all, it had been years since you last went out with someone.
You both managed to get yourselves together and talked about driving to the cafe. It wasn't too far away from Dunder Mifflin, but it was still far enough to walk there and still make it back to work in time. Realizing that taking separate cars would be a waste, it was decided that Toby would be the driver, as he had been the one to invite you.
It was a calm ride. He drives too slowly. But, fortunately, not too slow for you to go mad. This also made you wonder if he always drove like this, or if it was only this time because you were sitting next to him. Your trip to the cafe took less than five minutes, so you didn't get to have a deep conversation, but you at least got to know about his favorite movies: Annie Hall, The Shining, and Say Anything. Oh, and you also learned that Ryan had caused a fire from a cheese pita just a few days before you started working there.
Upon arriving at the cafe, you perused the menu and decided on an iced cheesecake latte, with a double shot of espresso, while Toby ordered a hot cappuccino and a small bag of chips.
"Looks like someone likes their coffee sweet and cold," he said with a giggle, then directed his gaze toward the coat you were wearing. "Even though it's mid-Autumn."
"Yeah, sorry, I can't help it. I'm one of those people who drinks iced coffee all year long." You looked at the bag of chips in his hand. "At least I'd rather have a large, dessert-like drink than a small coffee and some potato chips," you said in a playful tone, sitting at a table near you.
Toby laughed and grabbed the other chair, sitting down across the table. "Listen, Andy, I know you were glad you didn't have to get chips from the break room, but these ones are really good. They're actually organic." He opened the bag and held it out in front of you. "Trust me, you have to try them."
You couldn't decline his offer and ate a chip. He was right; these tasted nothing like the snacks from work. These chips weren't greasy, and they had a really nice balance of spices. He saw the look on your face when you tried them and placed the bag in the center of the table, sharing it with you. You got a bit embarrassed since you were already drinking your really sweet coffee, so you just grabbed a chip every once in a while as a way of showing him some gratitude for deciding to share the bag with you.
"Okay, I already know you like organic potato chips," you said with a playful smile, "but what would you say is your favorite food? You know, an actual meal."
"Um, well, I really like Arab food, like falafels or baba ganoush. Or maybe something Asian, like stir-fried tofu. I try to support local businesses, you know? These places are severely underrated in this city."
You nodded, agreeing with him. "I agree. We have to keep supporting them, unless we want make-your-own salad or pizza places to take over Scranton." You both laughed.
The rest of your lunch passed by quickly. You talked about books for a good while. He told you about his favorite ones and his love for detective novels. You talked about art and your favorite painters, and he got to know your love for art and design.
It was your first time going out with Toby, and you felt like you got to know more about him than you'd had since you started your job at Dunder Mifflin. Having lunch at work was usually quiet because you were always trying to avoid eating in the same room as other people, out of embarrassment, so you would miss out on getting to know more about your coworkers.
Shortly after you went back to the office everyone else arrived. You figured Michael had won the fight after he made a smug face whenever someone talked to him; while Dwight, on the other hand, seemed ashamed of himself and ate an entire bowl of peas by himself.
The remainder of your work hours flew by faster than you anticipated, thanks to the lift in mood provided by the lunch you shared with Toby. With no real tasks left to complete after five, you and Toby spent the rest of the day reading a Katzenbach book you had purchased earlier at the bookstore. As it was an author you had recommended to Toby, you both bought the same book so you could discuss it later.
By the end of the day, only a few minutes before seven, you found yourself signing the reports alongside Toby, Stanley, Angela, and Pam. It felt so wrong, but you knew it had to be done or else Michael wouldn't have been able to sign them before they were shipped out. After finishing signing the documents everyone headed to the parking lot, and before you left, you exchanged a smile with Toby as you each got into your car and drove home.
What began as a dull and frustrating day at work turned into an opportunity to become closer to the reserved and kind man who you seemed attracted to. You were looking forward to staying home for the weekend, and you couldn't help but think about how you'd probably eat lunch together with him starting next week.
A/N: This chapter came out longer than I'd expected —that's what she said— but I had fun writing it! If you have any suggestions (or grammar corrections, since I'm still trying to get better at it) let me know :)