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Paper Rings
chapter sixty
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WHEN JIM GOT TO WORK THAT DAY, THE FIRST THING HE NOTICED WAS MICHAEL IN HIS CHAIR. He was at his desk, using his computer, acting as if this was how things always were. And then it was the warehouse guys taking furniture out of Michael's office. Wearing bandanas over their faces. "Uh, what's going on?" he asked, approaching his desk with caution.
It wasn't until he passed Michael's door did he catch a whiff of the vulgar scent in the room. His throat tightened in disgust, face twisting into a look of pure horror. His hand flew to his nose to protect it from the fumes. "Uh, somebody left a present in there," Pam explained with her own grimace.
"Someone shit on the carpet," Roy had deducted. Jim's face fell slack in surprise. He knew Michael and the company had enemies, but he never expected someone to actually take a crap on the establishment. "Wow," was all he could say. Michael lifted his head, finally, to acknowledge the owner of the computer. A small, apologetic smile crawled across the man's face. "Hey, Jim. I thought that we would be desk buddies while they change my carpet."
He was never too thrilled to share his space. Not many people knew that about him, but Jim could be territorial. He was protective over his domain. And after the e-mail fiasco, he just didn't trust Michael to be on his computer. But what could he do about it? "That might be a little difficult with the one computer," Jim stated, a hint of annoyance tittering in his tone. Michael didn't seem to pick up on it.
Michael seemed perturbed. Or like he was faking it. Jim sighed. "But there's... definitely a desk open in the back," he replied. Though it wasn't. There wasn't an open desk anywhere, but he didn't mind slipping back into the annex to spend time with his girlfriend. "Which I'll take. So... see you later."
He turned to see Pam smiling, holding up a thumbs up. He had crushed it, at least with Michael. He could have probably been smoother with it, though. "No, no, no, seriously. I don't mind sharing," Michael spoke up, his eyes only flickering toward the large man. Jim waved him off. "No, no, no, seriously. I'll be in the back."
He rounded Michael and took his things that had been pushed into a pile. When he turned back to the cameras, his face beamed.
━━━━━━━━━━
JIM
Whoever did that to Michael's office...
[ HE IS STARING STRAIGHT INTO
THE CAMERA. SUDDENLY, HE
BREAKS OUT INTO A GRIN. ]
JIM
... Thank you.
━━━━━━━━━━
He thought things would be easier, for some reason. She let him use her computer while she played games on her phone. Tetris was a hit that day. But having her so close was more torture than pleasure.
Her legs were draped over his, glasses lopsided on her face as she read a few pages of this book she had spontaneously bought. She wasn't even really sure what the plot was, but the cover photo was enough to have her paying the full price for it. One hand was on the mouse, the other rubbing along the length of her calf.
A majority of the time, it was quiet. Kelly would speak up every once in a while, but he mostly focused on trying to focus on his work. The ringing of the phone, however, shattered every bit of resolve he possessed. He turned his head, watching as she turned in her seat to grab the phone. Watching how she fixed her glasses and smoothed down her hair. Watching as she recited those familiar words, her hand reaching for him.
Their fingers touched when she stilled. "What?" Her voice destroyed the warmth that tickled his insides. His brows furrowed, confused by her own look of surprise. "Wait, here? You mean that she's here?" Her legs slipped from his lap to stand. She stood on her tiptoes, eyes squinted as she peered out the glass of the annex's door.
"Crap!" she exhaled swiftly, hurriedly ducking down. The phone rattled noisily on the receiver. "Uh, what's going on?" he asked, a confusing lilt to his tone. Was he amused? Was he scared? Even he didn't know. Evelyn slid onto the floor, digging through her purse. Once she reached her compact, she flipped it open. In the corner, she could see Jim's eyes following her every move.
His head picked up nervously as he raised from his seat. Just outside the glass was an average height, plump woman with raven black hair. She was speaking with Pam. Her pantsuit looked all too familiar. "Oh, crap," he blurted out and Evelyn let out a frightened noise. "That's your– Is that your mom?"
She hurriedly shushed him against the lipstick she was applying. She hadn't expected to see her mother any time soon, especially not at her place of work. Not when the building smelled like death. "Oh, my God. Evelyn, is your mother here?" Kelly asked, her tone much brighter. She looked almost thrilled to meet her mom. Evelyn felt her eyes begin to water.
"Evie," Jim whispered, returning his bottom to her seat. She looked up, hope dimming within her vibrant, brown eyes. Before he could warn her, the door to the annex shoved open. "Hello, ma'am," Toby greeted the woman politely. She replied, her voice stern. There was no room for niceties. Not for Nicole Takahashi. "It's doctor," she said. "I was told my daughter's desk is back here."
She felt frozen in her place. Like so many years ago, Evelyn felt paralyzed. Jim took her hand gently, their fingers intertwining. Kelly stood from her desk to greet the woman. "Hi, Dr. Takahashi! I work back here with Evelyn! We're basically best friends." Jim helped her to her feet, allowing her to pause to sit. He knew of her family. Jim knew everything. But this was new. "Hm. I see," was all Nicole could say. "Is Evelyn here?"
"Hey, Mom," the brunette spoke up, forcing herself onto her feet. She used Jim's shoulder as a crutch to round him. Nicole's stern expression softened upon seeing her doctor. Arms outstretched, beckoning her to climb between them. A flush coated the young woman's cheeks as she closed the distance and wrapped her arms around her mother's waist. "You didn't tell me they shoved you into the back," Nicole commented, her tone lighthearted. It was a stark contrast to before.
Evelyn scoffed. "You didn't tell me you were coming to visit," she retorted. "Is Chichi here? How long are you going to be staying?" Nicole grasped her arms, squeezing her biceps. That loving look from before turning into something much more fierce. "Did you know that I had to find out about you and Jim dating from your boss? Who, by the way, is a very strange man. I'm not sure how you stomach being around him."
"Mom," Evelyn hurriedly interjected, her eyes growing wide. Nicole's arms moved to cross over her chest, waiting. She hadn't told her mother they were dating. Maybe that was a dumb call. But it had only been a few weeks, anyway. "Can we not do this now? Lunch is literally twenty minutes away."
Jim was sitting forward, elbows on his knees. His face was covered by his large hands. He felt extremely nervous being around the larger than life woman. It's worse now that he's dating her daughter. "I'll take you out to lunch. How's that? Then you can berate me all you want."
Her tongue clicked against the roof of her mouth. "I just want to know what is going on in your life," she argued. And so you traveled all the way here to find out, Evelyn thought but she wouldn't dare say. No, she only smiled back at her mother kindly. "Fine. But I would much rather stay back here than up there. It smells dreadful."
Evelyn's head snapped toward her desk where Jim sat. It looked like they'd be meeting much earlier than she had hoped. "What? Are you hiding something?" Nicole asked, following her daughter's line of sight with raging curiosity. "No! No, of course not," Evelyn rushed out. "No, I was just thinking. How about a cup of tea? I have some herbal blends in the kitchen."
Nicole glanced toward Evelyn curiously. "Oh! And I can introduce you to some of my co-workers." Her brows lifted. She suspected Evelyn was hiding something. It was obvious, really, with how adamant she was to get her mother out of there. And Jim was nervous. "Sure," Nicole finally relented casually. "A cup of tea sounds pleasant enough."
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MICHAEL
Evelyn's mother is... hot.
[ HE GIGGLES TO HIMSELF, LIP
BITTEN BETWEEN HIS TEETH. ]
MICHAEL
Like extremely hot. You can see who Evelyn gets her good looks from because wowza. What a woman.
[ THE CAMERA CUTS TO EVELYN AND
HER MOTHER LEAVING THE ANNEX.
EVELYN LOOKS LIKE THE SPITTING
IMAGE OF NICOLE. MICHAEL WHISTLES. ]
MICHAEL
Woo. I'd like to be the creme in that golden oreo sandwich.