PAPER RINGS ━━ Jim Halpert ¹

XII. MY PAPER SALESMAN

          "Wait," she blurted out, grabbing his wrist. "That was not a jab, okay? I wasn't calling you an average white man." He shook his head with a mild smile. He hadn't thought that. He didn't think she was calling him one, but the description did seem to fit him in some places. "It's okay," he replied, a slight laugh lacing with his words.

          She grimaced and released his wrist. "So, did you think he was cute?" Jim continued the conversation. Her grimace worsened, color brightening her skin. "What?" She looked at Jim in slight disbelief. It wasn't like her to talk about dating, or her romantic interests. She liked to steer away from those topics as much as she could. "You sound like my mom," she told him, a shudder declining down her spine.

          "Then think of me as one of the girls. Was he hot?" She slapped his arm, a disbelieving laugh filtering past her stunned expression. He snickered, cheeks going red, hiding behind his sandwich. "No, he was not hot. He was okay. I already told you this." She stabbed another piece of her omurice and shoved it into her mouth. Her face felt like it was on fire.

          Jim didn't know why his stomach felt light. He took a bite of his sandwich, amusement and relief washing over him like a downpour of rain. "I should head back to my desk after lunch," she spoke up through fragments of food in her mouth. Jim's smile flinched. He had to admit that he had gotten used to having her next to him for the day. It felt like they were off work, just hanging out. You know, except for when he had to take a sales call.

          "Yeah," he replied. "Kelly's been back there for a while by herself." Evelyn nodded her head. She felt fairly guilty leaving Kelly to fend for herself. Though Toby typically isn't a great conversationalist, he was a good listener, and she hoped that he did just that for Kelly while she was gone. Maybe he'd endure enough stories that she wouldn't have to. "This has been fun, though, for the most part."

          Her hand fell to her thigh where the keys to the conference room rested in her pocket. They jingled under her touch. Jim snorted. "For the most part," he agreed. She dipped her hand into her pocket and pulled out the keychain, setting them against the break room table. "You should keep those," Jim said. "You should be the one to let him out of time-out when he's learned his lesson."

          Her eyes locked on the metal keys with interest. "Sure," she agreed moments later. "Wouldn't hurt, anyway. Right?"

━━━━━━━━━━

          Evelyn sat in her chair, maneuvering her mouse to sure victory in Solitaire. It had been a while since the Dwight incident and the keys still weighed down her slack pockets. Just as she moved her last card and the victory sequence began, her phone rang. She picked it up second after, clearing her throat before speaking into the handheld. "Hello, this is Dunder Mifflin customer service. You're speaking with Evelyn. How may I help you?"

          "Let me out," Dwight demanded through the server. Her spine straightened as she perked up. A smile tugged at the strings of her lips. "Jim said that you have the keys. Let me out." For a split second, Evelyn felt a tad bit guilty locking Dwight in there. But then an idea filled her head.

          "I'm sorry, may I ask who's calling?" There was a tension in Dwight's tone as he fired back, "Let me out or you're fired." Her smile only grew at the empty threat. She leaned back into her seat, one leg crossing over the other. "I'm not sure you can fire someone you have no control over," she replied. There was a heavy breath that filled the receiver. "I can, too. I'm manager for the day."

          Evelyn hummed, clearly amused with the irritation building in Dwight's voice. She only wished she could see his face, red as a tomato as he glared at her through the conference room window. "Clean out your desk, right now. You're fired."