“Morning, you,” he says in a low voice as he gets closer. “Missed you this morning.”
“Me too,” I respond as my heart flutters. I wanted to sleep over but couldn’t, not with Gracie there. It’s all well and good to come over for dinner but it’s too soon for me to be waking up with them.
“You want to come over tonight again? Gracie couldn’t stop talking about you this morning, she said she wants to make you her famous brownies tonight.”
I laugh. “Sounds perfect, I’d love to. I do love brownies,” I say with a grin.
For the next week, I can’t stop smiling. Every night I go to Elliot’s house and every morning I look forward to seeing him walk in the door at work. One the weekend we go to the park with Gracie, go for ice cream together. I help her with her lines for the play. I can’t believe how seamlessly I’ve slipped into family life with them. It feels good and right to be with the two of them.
Gracie is feisty. She jumps into Elliot’s arms and I watch them twirl and laugh with each other and I feel so lucky to be a part of it, no matter how small my part may be. We spend the evenings together in the living room and I get to know the both of them.
I’m happy.
At work, Elliot and I steal sweet moments together. It’s the touch of his hand on my hip when he’s moving by me in the kitchen, or the half smile he gives me when he walks by my desk. I get butterflies in my stomach whenever I hear his voice or see him coming towards me. The darkness I saw before, the quiet, sulky jerk - I see right through it now. He’s private, and solitary, but he’s kind. And generous. And incredibly sexy.
I think Dave knows, but I don’t care. He’s caught us exchanging glances and given me a knowing eyebrow raise. I just laugh it off and walk away, and he laughs with me. Ask me three weeks ago and I would have said No Way. But now I can’t imagine my days without Elliot in them, and I can’t imagine my quiet evenings without Gracie.
Dr. Yates seems to have cooled off. The hard gaze and questioning looks have disappeared and been replaced with the friendly small talk that I got used to when I first started. I still need to ask him for that letter, I’m just waiting for the right time, and by waiting for the right time I mean the thought of asking him for anything makes me incredibly nervous. I’ve been putting it off. It’s been too nice to have a week full of happiness with Gracie and Elliot, I haven’t even brought myself to think of Victor or the debt.
It’s another Monday morning and I’m humming to myself at my desk when reality comes crashing down, in the form of the blonde bombshell with the overconfident strut. Melodie Sanders. She walks in the door and my mood darkens. Elliot still hasn’t mentioned her, and I haven’t asked. She doesn’t even speak to me this time, only waves her hand and walks past me down the hall. I watch as she knocks twice and Elliot’s door opens wordlessly, swallowing her inside.
My heart hammers as I get up from my chair. I follow in her footsteps down the hallway, heart beating harder and harder with every step. I get to his door and I raise my hand, ready to knock. I pause. What am I even doing? What would I say? Why am I here?
I shake my head. I’m not going to embarrass myself in front of them. She’s a client, nothing more. I’m being jealous and irrational. This is ridiculous.
Instead, I glance down the hall and decide to do what I’ve been putting off for a week. I need to ask Dr. Yates for that reference letter. I need to get my mind off the gorgeous blonde in that room with Elliot, and this needs to get done anyways.
I take a few more steps and knock on Dr. Yates’ door.
“Come in,” comes the voice through the door. I take a deep breath and turn the knob, stepping through to his office.
Chapter 42 - Emma
“Hi Dr. Yates,” I start, standing awkwardly by the door. He looks up at me silently. I take another deep breath. “I just wanted to say that I hope I hadn’t overstepped any boundaries with the filing project two weeks ago. I realise I’ve been hired as a receptionist and you have an established system. It was never my intention to disrupt anything.”
Dr. Yates leans back in his chair, studying me. I will myself to stay still, to dip my chin down and try to look as innocent as possible. Wait, is this making me look more guilty? Like I’m trying to hide the fact that I know something is up? How do I make myself look innocent? He lets me stand there, cheeks burning, trying not to fidget, for what seems like an eternity. Finally he speaks.
“That’s alright, Emma. Like I said, I always like to see people showing initiative. You didn’t overstep any boundaries. You’ve done us a favour, I’ve been wanting to archive those files for years.”
His face is unreadable, and his voice is completely steady. I know I can’t trust him and he’s not giving any hints as to what he’s thinking. I’m walking a delicate line.
“I’m glad to hear that. If there’s anything else I can do, please let me know.”
He nods and looks back down towards the file on his desk. I take a deep breath and speak again.
“Dr. Yates, I’ve been wanting to ask you something,” I start. He looks up from his files and folds his hands on his desk. “I’ve been wanting to ask you if you’d give me a reference for a bank loan. They’ve asked for confirmation that I’m employed, so all I need is a letter on the company letterhead stating my salary.”
I stand there, trying not to fidget under his gaze. Is he going to ask me what the loan is for? I haven’t even thought of what I would say! My heart starts beating. Mortgage? Car? What else do people get loans for?!
“That shouldn’t be a problem.” He looks away from me, turning his attention back to his paperwork.
“Thank you,” I say breathlessly, relief flooding through me. Why was I so nervous about that! Everything will be alright.
If he hasn’t given me a letter by tomorrow afternoon I’ll remind him again. I turn around and step towards the door. I’m about to walk out when he calls my name.
“Emma, wait.” I turn around slowly. My heart starts beating as Dr. Yates stares at me. “When you were organising those files, you didn’t notice anything strange, did you?”
My heartbeat is roaring in my ears. I try to keep my face still as stone. I cock my head to the side. “Strange? How?”
He waves a hand casually. “Oh, it’s nothing. My accountant has asked a couple questions about some fees that a few patients have been charged and I know with your background in accounting you might have picked up on them.”
I shake my head slowly. Is it obvious that I’m lying?!
“I didn’t look at the files too closely, Doctor, just organised them logically.” I pause. “What… what kind of fees did your accountant notice?”
Dr. Yates’ face suddenly cracks into a grin. It’s not a warm, inviting smile, quite the opposite. It’s almost malicious and the sight of it makes my blood run cold.
“Maybe you can have a look through the files again and see if you can make any sense of it. I’ll put you in touch with my accountant, you can work on it together. I want to make sure everything is above-board.”
“Absolutely,” I respond automatically. My mind is going a mile a minute. Now he wants me to look through the files? He wants me to look at them in greater detail? He’s telling me there’s strange fees?
“I’ll give you his details this afternoon. Oh and Emma,” he pauses. I wait expectantly while he stares me down, eyes narrowing again. “Don’t tell anyone about this. It’ll be our little secret project, yeah?”
I nod. “I understand.” I don’t understand.
“Good.” He looks back down at his desk. I take a deep breath and ask the question that’s been on the tip of my tongue since I started the job.
Finally I step out of his office. I close the door behind me and lean against it, closing my eyes and breathing deep. Maybe trying to get on his good side wasn’t such a good idea after all. What in the world is going on? I don’t understand how he could have such a big change of heart. Last week he was calling me the bitch who wa
s snooping through his files and now he’ll open them up for me?
I hurry back to my desk and sit down. I’m not even worried about Melodie as I rush past the door. It doesn’t matter anymore. Something is going on, and I need to figure out what it is. Why would he have such a dramatic change of heart?
My mind is whirling, but one thought keeps coming back. I need to play this right, because I need his support to get approved for a loan, and I need that to happen this week. My first priority needs to be my safety, the safety of everyone I care about, and getting Victor off my back.
I close my eyes and all I can see is the way he smiled when he told me about the accounting. He showed me a side of him I haven’t seen before.
It was chilling and malicious. It was evil.
Chapter 43 - Elliot
“Why are you here, Melodie. And don’t tell me Botox because I know that’s bullshit. You were just in here two weeks ago.”
She smiles that smile that makes my blood curdle. She crosses her legs and folds her hands over her lap deliberately, and then shifts her gaze to me.
“I just wanted to see how you were doing,” she replies.
Suddenly it all makes sense. The money laundering, the gambling, the debt. She and Dr. Yates are working together on this and they have been for years. They’ve been using me all this time without me knowing.
“Cut the bullshit. All these years you’ve been coming in here getting whatever free procedure you feel like getting but what you’ve really been doing is checking up on me, and making sure your little scheme is still secure.”
The anger is building up inside me. I’m outraged. They’ve been using me and lying to my face for years. She had been part of the original deal. She’s the one I owed money to when I played poker games at her tables. Lost poker games at her tables, I should say. Dr. Yates had been at those tables with me. He’d agreed to let her have whatever procedure she wanted for free, and loan me the money to pay her back.
I’d always wondered why. They’ve been in on this together from the start.
“Alright Elliot, well done. You caught me. I’ve been checking up on you and our little enterprise here for years. Stuart has been very good to me. Or, I mean, you’ve been very good to me.” She pauses, and looks at her nails lazily, then keeps talking without looking up. “I just wanted to make sure that now that you know what’s at stake, you won’t do anything stupid.”
She looks up and her eyes shoot daggers at me. I can plainly see the threat there.
“Why would I do something stupid,” I ask slowly, not taking my eyes off her.
“Well, for starters, maybe your new girlfriend has found some things out. Maybe she has questions. Maybe you think you trust her, and it’s safe to tell her these things.” She leans forward and lowers her voice and I try not to let my fear show through. “I’m here to remind you that it’s not safe to tell her these things. Not safe for you, or her, or that cute redheaded daughter of yours.”
“Don’t fucking talk about my daughter,” I spit at her.
She smiles and stands up, smoothing her clothing and patting her hair to make sure it’s still impeccable.
“Good. So we understand each other.”
I say nothing, just sit there seething as she walks out my door. My head drops into my hands and I sit there without moving. I’m in so much trouble and I can’t tell anyone about it. I don’t know what to do. If I go to the police I can’t be sure they’ll believe me.
This is getting worse. Now that both of them know that I know they’ve been doing this, I’ve become a liability to them. The thought of hurting Emma, of losing Gracie... It makes my chest feel like it’s being crushed in a vise. Finally it feels like my life is normal but the shadow of my mistakes keeps haunting me. If only I hadn’t been so desperate when Chloe was sick. If I hadn’t lost all that money or got involved with these people. I’d still be here with Gracie but I wouldn’t have this nightmare hanging over my head. I need to figure something out. Fast.
Chapter 44 - Emma
Elliot leaves work before I do to go pick Gracie up from school. As he walks out the door, he gives me a wink and a smile. I can’t help but smile back when he does.
It’s so easy to be happy with him! But as soon as he walks out the door, the dark cloud that’s been hanging over me all day returns. Should I tell him about what Dr. Yates told me to do? Does he know anything about the Aesthetics Management Fee? What if he has something to do with it?
I shake my head. I don’t see Elliot being capable of something like that. He has a history with Dr. Yates, I know that from the conversation I overheard. Maybe Yates is suspicious of something between us? I know Dave has sensed something is going on between Elliot and I, it’s not impossible that Dr. Yates would see something going on as well. But I don’t understand how that would relate to the files and the obvious financial crimes that have been going on. I know Dr. Yates is up to something, but I need to figure it out before I tell Elliot about it. I want to tell him everything, but it’s too soon.
Just when the thought crosses my mind, Dr. Yates appears at my side carrying a large file box. He drops it on my desk, dragging me out of my daydream about Elliot. I almost jump out of my seat but he ignores me.
“You can start with this box. Here are the contact details for my accountant. Give him a call to see what he noticed. It’s some sort of management fee that’s only applied to certain patients.”
Without waiting for a response, he turns around and starts walking away.
“Dr. Yates!” I call after him. He pauses and glances over his shoulder. “Just wondering if I could get that letter for the bank off you?” He turns his head further to look me in the eye.
“See what you can find out and I’ll get that letter to you.”
I stare down the hall after him and then turn my attention to the box. He’s using me. He knows how much I need this loan, I must have been too obvious. He won’t give me anything until I find out what’s going on with these files. I flip the lid to the box and glance inside. I recognise some of these files. Cross-checking with the pictures on my phone, I can see a number of files that I’d already noticed.
One of them is missing, the first one I looked for. Melodie Sanders.
I frown, flicking through the files one more time. She’s definitely not in this box. Maybe she’s in another one, or else Dr. Yates removed that particular file for some reason. I glance down the hall again but he’s disappeared.
Picking up the phone, I dial the number on the paper he handed me. A man answers after a couple rings.
“Hi,” I start. “Can I speak to Michael Gregory please?”
“This is he,” a thin voice responds. I take a deep breath.
“Hi Michael. My name is Emma Thompson, I’m calling from Manhattan Aesthetics. Dr. Stuart Yates gave me your phone number. I understand you’ve noticed some strange fees in some of the accounts?”
“That’s right. I haven’t been able to pinpoint what it’s for or why it’s applied. It just looks like a red flag to me.”
“Right. Dr. Yates has asked me to have a look through the files, any idea where I can start?”
There’s a pause on the phone and some shuffling of papers. The thin voice reappears on the line after a few moments.
“I’ve got a few names here, if you check these files you should be able to see the charges. It’s called the Aesthetic Management Fee.”
“Sounds suspicious enough,” I chuckle.
He rattles off a dozen names as I jot them down. Melodie Sanders doesn’t appear on his list either. Did he just miss her file, or was it gone when he looked through them too?
“That’s great, thanks Michael. I’ll give you a call if I have any other questions. Thanks again for your help.”
I place the receiver down gently and look at the list of names. This goes much deeper than I originally thought.
My clock says it’s 5:15pm. I’d better get out of here, Elliot is expe
cting me at 6:30. This mystery can wait until tomorrow. Right now I have something much more important than an accounting problem. Gracie and Elliot are waiting for me.
Chapter 45 - Emma
The next morning I’m greeted with another box of files from Dr. Yates.
“Morning Emma, here’s another one for you. Do you think you could have something for me by the end of the day? A list of patients that have had the management fee applied to them, any other patterns you can come up with?”
“Sure, Dr. Yates, no problem,” I say, staring at the box stuffed to the brim with files.
“There’s another dozen boxes in the storage room down the hall. When you’re done with that one you can grab the keys from me and get the next one.”
“Ok, I’ll try to get something to you by the end of the day.”
“Good woman.” He raps his knuckles on the desk and walks away.
I stare at the box of files and sigh. What could he possibly want me to tell him? Patterns? I open the box and glance inside, scanning the names. Still no Melodie Sanders. He obviously wants me to find something out, but what is it?
Taking a deep breath, I decide that the best thing for me to do is to attack this systematically. Think like an accountant, I tell myself. I open up a blank spreadsheet and start writing headings. I’ll sort through the files and mark down patient names, attending doctor, dates, procedures, total cost.
I’m so busy with the paperwork that I don’t notice when Elliot walks into work until he’s next to my desk. He glances at my desk and the big box of files that I’ve just opened.
“What’s all this?” he asks, cocking his head and furrowing his brow. He looks just like Gracie when he does that.
Doctor D Page 12