INTERIM LOVER, ryan howard.

027 ⋮ welcome to dunder mifflin, new york

ㅤㅤㅤThe office was buzzing with excitement that was otherwise foreign to Scranton. It seemed that everyone had decided to get a life in the last two weeks of Summer '08— Phyllis was back from her six-week honeymoon, Angela had acquired a new cat (named Ember, though Rachel wished she'd called him Garfield) and Kevin travelled as far as Dunmore on foot for a new Italian treat.

The last few weeks had been kind to Rachel. One of her closest friends moved to New York and was now living out his dreams. Her other friends were getting exclusive. She knew beyond those sheepish grins and blushes, Jim and Pam had never stopped loving each other. As a bonus, she herself hadn't encountered many hardships in the past couple of weeks, a pleasant change from the norm.

Oscar entered the kitchen, a smile broadening on his features when he saw his colleague leaning on the kitchen counter, cradling her first coffee of the day. "Well, you look happy. That's unusual."

Rachel rolled her eyes. "What are you implying?"

"Nothing."

"Spit it out, Martinez."

He shrugged, casually continuing to search the cupboard for his mug. "It's really nothing. I saw you the other day and I meant to say hi, but you looked so cosy with your new man candy."

Her eyes widened and she slapped her friend. "Oscar! You can't tell anyone!"

"So it's true? You're on the market again?"

"It was a tinder date," she sheepishly admitted. "You better not bring this up to your lame tea parties or I'll make teacups out of your bones."

"You're so uncivilised. This is why you aren't in the Finer Things Club," Oscar eyed her prudently. "Well, I'm glad to hear that you're over that corporate douche."

Her eye involuntarily twitched. "Ryan's not a douche," she began.

"Of course not," he uttered under his breath. Oscar had been watching his colleague for three years now. Rachel never passed up an opportunity to blame herself for the downfall of others, and while he admired her humility, he was often worried for her. 

But it wasn't his place to intrude.

"Anywho, I heard that we've got a new salesman coming in," Rachel chatted.

"Saleswoman," Oscar corrected. They shared a knowing look. Michael's employees as of recent were following a similar trend– first Rachel, then Ryan, and now this new girl. "I wonder where she's gonna sit."

Rachel imagined the unoccupied desk across Meredith, the same desk Ryan had sat when he was temping at Scranton. It was hard to think that three years had passed since he met the quietly ambitious temp. He had made this insufferable job just a bit more bearable, he waited for her when she left him for someone else, he waited for her when she left him for a fresh start.

But Ryan's time in Scranton was impermanent as his relationship with Rachel. He was an interim employee and an interim friend. He was a New York hotshot now. A few weeks ago, David Wallace had come into Michael's office, rambling on and on about 'Ryan Howard the Wunderkind'. So much had happened in three years, she shouldn't have been surprised.

"We'll have to wait and see what Michael has in store for us this year," Rachel laughed lightly, grabbing her mug. "I should get going, I just thought of an awesome prank to pull on Dwight."

—

RACHEL
I got a bit desperate so I signed up for tinder. I didn't wanna third wheel my parents, and Ryan's living his best life in New York. And I'm lonely. So naturally...