The Downey Brothers

The Argument

Anna's day off ended fairly quick in her opinion. She is on her way to Starbucks to get her and Robert a coffee to start off the morning. 

She walks through the doors of the huge building, coffees in hand and greets the receptionist. "Good morning, Mason. Any messages I need to give to the big boss?" 

"Surprisingly no. The dealerships must be having no complaints this morning. But, just a heads up, Downey walked in not looking very happy earlier..." Mason warned, taking a sip of his own coffee whilst typing on his computer. 

"Oh great..." Anna rolls her eyes, starting to walk towards the elevator. "Well, thanks for the warning, Mason, have a good day!" Anna says, steeping onto the elevator. 

"You try to have a good day, too Anna!" 

Anna makes it to the top floor, the elevator doors opening to show Robert leaning over a bunch of scattered papers on his desk, reading them over. He didn't even look up when he heard the 'ding'. Anna furrows her brows, but shrugs and walks towards his desk, placing his coffee next to his elbow on his desk, before proceeding to her own desk to start the day.

"You know it's dangerous to place coffee near something that could easily knock it down..." He all of a sudden speaks, still not looking up from the papers. Even though he was being an ass, Anna couldn't help but notice he wasn't wearing a suit for once. He had on a white shirt under a black sweater, and from what she could see when she placed his coffee on his desk, he was also wearing khakis. He finally looks up from his desk at her, his face showing pure annoyance. "Are you ignoring me?" He spits. 

"No, sorry, I heard you. I just didn't know how to respond-" He cuts her off with an exaggerated sigh. 

"Typical..." He mutters, going back to his papers. This time, Anna gets pissed off. 

"Robert, I have absolutely no clue why you are so annoyed but I'd really appreciate it if you would leave me out of it and keep a civil tone with me. I did nothing wrong, or if I did I certainly don't know about it, so if you'd enlighten me that'd be great..." Anna defends, which makes Robert slam his hand on his desk, suddenly getting up from his chair. 

"Oh, so just because you had an amazing day off you can get all snarky with me just because I'm in a bad mood?!" He starts to raise his voice now. 

"Who says my day off was amazing?" Anna asks.

"Your boyfriend tells me a lot of things. I honestly think he does it to piss me off and rub it in my fucking face..." Robert mutters, turning to look out the ceiling to floor windows. 

"So? I was just hanging out with an old friend. Are you upset because... Because you're lonely?" Anna asks, in a softer and more gentle tone now. Robert abruptly turns around, his face showing he is forcing tears to stay in. "Are you okay, Robert? If Nathan is bothering you I can talk to hi-" 

"I don't need you to do that. That is the dumbest thing I have ever heard. That's some bullshit you find happening in high school, not when you're fucking 43 years old!" He says, putting his hands on his desk, turning away from Anna. 

"You're 43?" Anna asks. "Sorry, forget that, it's off topic..." 

"Yes, I'm 43 and Nathan is 37. Does that make you lose more interest in me?" 

"Robert, will you stop this? For the honest truth, you and Nathan both look like you're 35 in different ways, okay? I don't discriminate against age so don't you dare think that." Robert stays silent this time, turning his head to look out the window again. "My friend I was with yesterday, she was having this same insecurity. I told her about you and I think she would like to meet you sometime. Her name is Nicole Carson, she is a photographer and I can guarantee you that she is prettier than I'll ever be-"

"That's not possible." Robert quickly cuts her off, looking at Anna again.

"It is. You haven't ever seen her so you can't judge yet. What do you think?" Robert sighs. 

"What I think is that your friend would just be wasting her time... I only have my eyes on one beautiful woman, and since she is happily taken, I need to learn to accept it." 

"Robert, it isn't healthy to be alone forever. She is a really good person, a lot like me. I really wish you would just try..." Robert walks closer to Anna. 

"It would be pointless. She seems to also be interested in my brother anyways..." He says softly, his voice cracking. 

"It is not pointless, but you are Robert! There is a difference, and she is only a fan of Nathan. She would never try anything with him as long as I'm with him, me and her are best friends." Anna explains, looking at her desk to see a stack of paperwork to copy. "I will tell Nathan that he is upsetting you, and if he doesn't stop I will ignore him for awhile. Excuse me but I need to get these copies done." Anna says, quickly grabbing the papers and leaving the floor. 

Robert sighs, rubbing his face in frustration. "Ugh!!!!" He yells, punching his desk. He sits back in his desk chair, his head in his hands, messing up his hair. "I don't want to go out with this Nicole chick... I want you to love me as much as I love you, Anna..." Robert whispers, sitting there for a moment before going back to work.

~

A/N

Woah!!!!! He loves her???? Can you all sense the tension? Will Robert ever agree to go on that date with Nicole? Next chapter up soon, thanks guys!