The Office Episode 9.15 Couples Discount

The staff's excited: Pam, because Jim is actually in the office for Valentine's Day (he finagled his schedule with his partners), Pete, because Erin's invited him to play hooky with her (she wants to have some fun before Andy returns and she has to break up with him) and the rest of the staff (because the mall nearby is offering discounts to couples - meaning if they pair up they'll get manicures and other services for cheap). Nelly grabs Clark as her fake boyfriend, Darryl agrees to pair up with Oscar. They first head for the nail salon. Nellie enjoys a manicure as her "partner" Clark takes some teasing from the manicurist for looking like a pretty girl. Oscar and Darryl are refused the discount - men can't be a couple, the salon manager tells them. Darryl tells her off and they leave.

Pam's made lunch reservations for Jim and her, plus Brian - the now-fired soundman - and Brian's wife Alyssa. It's not quite the romantic meal Jim was hoping for, but he agrees with Pam that they need to pay Brian back for defending her when Frank attacked. Pam and Jim agree they'll get a bottle of wine and celebrate Valentine's Day later that night. They meet Brian at the restaurant, but Brian's wife is not there. Jim thanks Brian earnestly for defending Pam; Brian graciously accepts and asks if they know of any work. After some small talk, Brian reveals that he and his wife are splitting up. Brian breaks down and tells Pam he wishes they weren't always breaking down in front of each other. Jim is floored. He wonders to himself: when was Pam crying and finding comfort in Brian?

Dwight wanders into Andy's office to fake his signature on yet another sales order. It's a good life without the boss in town. But when Dwight turns around he's shocked to see that Andy has returned. The boss is quite tanned; he wears a tropical shirt, ratty beard and a beanie. After three months in the Caribbean, he's finally returned, albeit a day earlier than expected. The staff comes back from the mall outing. Andy immediately gives them a hard time for taking a long lunch. When he spots Erin, he pops up to offer her a big hug. But Erin recoils, offering him a double high-five. Andy busts out a couple of island-music percussion instruments, trying to get Erin into his new mellow spirit, but she's not interested.

Dwight tells Andy to consider cleaning himself up; David Wallace is due for an office visit in one hour. It quickly becomes clear that Andy never let David know that he was going to be gone for three months. While he's been gone, the office has shattered its quarterly sales record, thanks in part to the Scranton White Pages sale by Dwight and Clark. Consequently, David's had little reason to question the operation. Back in his office, Andy tells Dwight that there's a problem with the Scranton White Pages sale: he made the deal at an unauthorized price. Andy gets Jan on the phone to let her know that there'll need to be an adjustment. Jan feels extorted and tells Andy she wants out of the contract altogether.

Andy stops by accounting to pick up his past paychecks - and a bonus check. Angela, Kevin and Oscar are all disgusted that Andy seems to be getting rewarded for skipping out of work for 12 weeks. The rest of the gang is angry too. They commiserate in the breakroom and debate whether to tattle about Andy's absence when David Wallace shows up. But no one really has the heart to rat Andy out. In preparation for Wallace's visit, Andy calls a staff meeting to learn the important details he's missed at the office over the last three months. The team starts inventing details, like a warehouse fire, a new line of balloons for sale and Kathy Ireland being the new company spokesmodel.

Coming back from the lunch with Brian, Jim is distraught. Pam probes and Jim reveals he feels she's been secretive about her relationship with Brian. Pam explains that she didn't want to stress Jim out; his job in Philly is already difficult enough. Jim thanks her sarcastically and then tells Pam they should just forget it, that he has no real reason to be upset.

Wallace touches base with Andy. After being convinced that all is well, Wallace leaves. Erin gathers up her courage to come into Andy's office and tell him to his face she's breaking up with him. Andy fights back, telling Erin he understands why she's annoyed, but he still loves her dearly. If she'll just pretend to like him for a while he's sure she'll grow to love him again. Erin starts to cave. Andy hugs her and kisses her on the head. Perhaps there's a spark still left. Erin sees Pete in the parking lot on the way out and admits she couldn't break up with Andy. But then she plants a big kiss on Pete and runs back inside the building. She bursts into Andy's office and tells him definitively that she's breaking up. She reminds him he was gone for three months and that she was worried about him. She exits, leaving a heartsick Andy. And now Andy's got another problem: he was on the speakerphone with Wallace when Erin came in. He's overheard the whole thing.

Back in the office, Jim announces to Pam that maybe they should skip that planned bottle of wine tonight - he's afraid they'll just fight and that's not really what he wants to do on Valentine's Day. He suggests that perhaps Pam should just drop him off at the bus for the ride back to Philly. Jim gives her an unwrapped Valentine's Day gift: an early drawing of hers he had framed. Saddened and afraid, they start to head out of the office. Pam stops him to say that he shouldn't go to Philly tonight; they should stay in town and fight if they need to. Jim takes it as a positive sign that she hasn't given up on them. He tells her to put up her dukes.