❝You've reached Ned and Digby [barking]. We're not available at the moment, please leave your name and a brief message and one of us will get back to you shortly. Probably me.❞
Uh, hi. I'm Jim Halpert and, uh, I heard you're opening a pie shop? I'm kinda looking for a job and I didn't know if you had any openings or not being a new business?
[Jim wonders briefly if Ned hung up, but oop there he is again.]
Almost four weeks. I know it's a big place, but I'm getting used to it and back home I was considered for a corporate position in New York that would oversee all of the New England branches.
[Oh wait super strength!] And I can help unload supplies and do the back-breaking work, not that there's, uh, really much back-breaking work in making pies. Well, I mean, not the usual kind. Not that pie-making is unusual, I just, uh, yeah. [Foot goes in mouth now.] So I can do that too.
Corporate? [He wondered if Jim didn't like his job and maybe that was why he wanted a change.] So you have no experience in -- pie?
We do have a lot of furniture to carry... [Shahrazad had super strength too, but she could only work at night until Ned sufficiently blocked out the windows.]
[Ned is in the back of the shop, hurrying to store his rotted fruit and lock the pantry door before Jim gets there. With that done, he places the key around his neck and starts staring at the instructions for installing the ovens. He had done this once but it had been a long time ago now.
The door to the Pie Hole is open, the outside is empty but the minute you step inside there's a mountain of furniture in boxes all stacked to one side, waiting to be assembled and/or carried. The floor is a charming checkered tile but everything else is a little sterile looking.]
[Jim doesn't take any time to dilly dally and heads straight over to the Pie Hole as soon as he can. In a pair of jeans, a v-neck sweater, and jeans, the salesman slowly enters, glancing around at the boxes.]
Wow, you weren't kidding.
[But still, he's incredibly grateful that there's even an opening for him. He hasn't seen much of the economy of the City, but it likely isn't much better than the States back home. He takes a couple more steps into the building and smiles warmly over at Ned, shoving his hands into his pockets.]
I never kid about pie. [He deadpanned, turning from the many instruction booklets he had splayed out over the counter. He even mustered up a small smile.]
[Jim nods and chuckles a little bit as he makes his way over to the counter, eyes roaming about the place as he took it all in. He could definitely work here, especially with such a friendly and not dramatic guy like Ned. It'd be a great change from home.]
Yep, that's me. Sooo, I guess you need some of this furniture lifted and assembled?
Sure, um. But first, I need to figure out how these ovens work. [he put his hands on his hips, gesturing to the instructions.] I've had the Pie Hole at home almost eight years, I guess I didn't realize how easy it would be to forget.
[Eight years, wow. Jim raises his eyebrows, definitely impressed by that. Still, he smiles warmly at Ned, hoping to maybe soothe a few of those nerves.]
Yeah, sure, man. Take your time. I'm literally in no rush.
[Jim shrugs and moves over toward Ned, pulling his hands out of his pocket when he takes a look at the instructions. Wow these look much more complicated than any of his usual manuals.]
Uh, most of the time I'm pretty alright with instructions but this looks, uh, really complicated.
[And there's so many exclamation points all over the page. Yikes.]
[Jim flips one page of the manual to the next page. Gas installation. Okay, awesome, at least they're looking at the right thing now. He rolls up his sleeves and pulls off his tie to set on the counter as he glances around.]
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