26. Levi
‘Good morning, Tessa,’ Levi said as he breezed into the office.
He put a cup of coffee on her desk before continuing into his office. Tessa followed him in, holding the cup like it was a bomb.
‘Um… what is this?’
‘Double caramel macchiato with extra cream,’ Levi said, slipping his white coat on and turning to smile at her. ‘It’s your favourite, right?’
Tessa nodded uncertainly. ‘Y-yes. Is there something wrong?’ Her face went pale. ‘Are you dying? People always change when they find out they’re dying.’
Levi laughed. ‘I’m not dying. I’m in a good mood, and I’m trying to show my appreciation for all the hard work you do. I know I can be a pain to work with sometimes.’
‘Most of the time,’ she muttered, and Levi just grinned.
She held the cup out to him. ‘You drink it first.’
‘You think I would poison you?’
Tessa shrugged. ‘Why else would you be so nice to me? You’re either dying?—’
‘I’m not dying.’
‘Or you’re trying to get rid of me.’
‘Are there no other options?’
‘Not unless… no. I don’t believe it.’ Tessa shut the office door and moved closer to whisper, ‘Are you in love?’
Levi didn’t answer, but he couldn’t stop the grin spreading across his face. Love? He didn’t know if it was love—it was too early for that—but it was definitely heading in that direction.
‘The blind date?’ Tessa hissed.
‘What blind date?’ Theo said walking into the room without knocking.
‘You know I went on a blind date,’ Levi said, refusing to have his good mood ruined.
‘Oh,’ Theo winked at Tessa, making her face flush. ‘That blind date. Who was it again? Someone your mother set you up with?’
‘Yes, that blind date and… as for my mother setting us up, let’s just say she may have been the catalyst, but I’m pretty sure it would have happened anyway.’
Levi didn’t know that for sure. Up until the date, he and Alexis had been more combatants than anything resembling friends, let alone prospective romantic partners.
‘Sure it would,’ Theo said as he sat in the chair opposite Levi’s desk.
‘I’ll leave you to it,’ Tessa said, scurrying out the door.
Levi wasn’t even worried that she might spread the news through the office. In fact, he wanted to shout it from the rooftops, which sounded corny, but he didn’t even care.
‘Why are you here?’ Levi asked, not looking at his friend.
‘Can’t a friend drop in to see another friend at work?’
‘I’m not touching your face,’ Levi said. ‘You don’t need anything done.’
‘Not even a peel? My skin is really dry. I’ve got a shoot coming up, and I want to look my best.’
‘Are you here for free samples?’ Levi looked up at his friend with narrowed eyes.
‘Why? Do you have something good?’ Theo rubbed his hands together in anticipation.
Levi sighed and opened his bottom desk drawer. He pulled out a sample pack and dumped it on the desk between them.
‘No peel,’ Levi said. ‘And drink more water.’
Theo picked up the sample bag and grimaced. ‘Is this it? You do know I’m an internationally recognised model, right?’
‘I also know how much you earn.’ Levi steepled his fingers and looked at him with a narrowed gaze. ‘Did you really come here for a peel and some samples?’
‘Can’t one buddy drop in and chat with another buddy?’
‘What’s really going on?’
‘I’m bored,’ Theo complained. ‘You work all day and I’ve got nothing to do.’
‘Maybe you should go visit Elias. He has nothing to do all day.’
Theo shuddered. ‘No thanks.’ He stood and swiped the pack off the desk and tucked it into the satchel he carried.
‘Don’t let the door hit you on the arse on the way out,’ Levi muttered.
Theo opened the door with a chuckle that was cut off when raised voices reached them.
‘I demand to see Dr Beck. Now!’
Theo looked back at Levi. ‘Someone’s pissed. What did you do?’
‘Nothing,’ Levi said with a sigh as he stood. ‘That’s Jonah’s handiwork.’
‘Looks like you’re the one who is going to have to deal with it. Good luck with that.’ He sauntered off, not looking back.
‘Nikki,’ Levi said, stepping out into the reception area. ‘Why don’t you come into my office?’
Nikki stormed past him, and Levi looked at Tessa. ‘Push back my appointments. And don’t let my mother know Nikki is here.’
‘Are you sure that’s wise?’
Levi rolled his lips together as he thought. ‘Don’t let her know yet.’
Tessa nodded, and Levi took a breath before going into his office and closing the door.
‘Hey,’Alexis said, nudging Levi’s elbow. ‘What’s up?’
They were sitting on his couch watching… actually, he didn’t even know what they were watching. He hadn’t been paying attention.
‘Rough day,’ he replied.
He wanted to talk to her about the situation with Nikki, but it went against everything he believed in. Patient confidentiality was the golden rule, and he refused to break it.
‘I’m a pretty good listener,’ Alexis said.
Tofu was tucked in and asleep in the laundry room, and Evelyn had already spent a good half hour cooing to the fluff ball. From what Levi observed—from a safe distance so Evelyn didn’t know he was there—Tofu didn’t care in the slightest that her owner was away. Tofu didn’t seem to give a damn about anything, really.
They’d decided to spend the evening together in Evelyn’s apartment, just for a change of scenery. Elias had gone home, so Levi’s apartment was finally empty, but he didn’t want to be there tonight, even if being here with Alexis was breaking the rules.
‘You’re a bad influence on me,’ he said, smiling at her.
‘What? Me? How?’
‘I’m here, in Evelyn’s apartment. Didn’t you say you weren’t supposed to have visitors?’
Alexis rolled her eyes. ‘Evelyn said that because apparently Tofu doesn’t like noise.’ They both looked in the direction of the laundry room. ‘But I don’t think Evelyn really knows what Tofu likes.’
Levi snuggled back down into the couch and tugged Alexis closer. ‘I had a rough day, but I’m glad to be here with you. It makes it better.’
Alexis laid her head on his shoulder. ‘Is there trouble with a client?’
He didn’t say anything, but he nodded.
‘You can tell me,’ she said. ‘I’m like a vault. You would not believe some of the things clients have told me.’ She covered her mouth. ‘Probably shouldn’t have said that.’ She laughed at his scandalised expression. ‘I’m joking.’
He sighed. ‘Can I invoke some sort of lawyer/client confidentiality?’
She frowned as she sat up. ‘Do you need legal advice?’
‘Yes. No. Maybe? I don’t know.’
‘Your clinic probably has a stable of lawyers on retainer,’ she said. ‘Shouldn’t you speak to one of them?’
‘It’s complicated,’ he said.
‘Then un-complicate it.’
‘It’s not that easy.’
‘Explain it to me.’
Levi searched her eyes. He trusted her. He did. He just couldn’t quite bring himself to disregard his own rules.
‘Do we need a signed contract to say I’m your lawyer before you’ll tell me?’ she asked, and he wasn’t sure if she was being sarcastic or not. The last thing he wanted was to upset their burgeoning relationship by letting her think he didn’t trust her.
‘Okay, so… I do have my own lawyer, but…’
‘But?’
‘But I’m not sure if I should contact them or not. I purposely chose someone unrelated to my parents, but I know that the law circles in the city are small, and everyone knows everyone else.’
‘You don’t trust your legal team to keep it confidential?’
He shrugged. If he was honest, he didn’t, but then what would that be saying about his feelings toward lawyers? Would that be offensive to Alexis?
Alexis stood and grabbed her bag, rummaging through it to pull out a notebook. She scribbled something on the paper and signed it with a flourish before handing it to him. He read over it quickly. It was a contract.
‘Sign it,’ she said, handing him the pen.
He hesitated for a moment, but then signed his name under hers. She slipped it out of his hands and then sat opposite him. Her demeanour changed, and she was no longer the Alexis he’d come to know. She was now Attorney Alexis. It was kind of hot.
‘Thank you for coming in today, Dr Beckingsale,’ she said politely. ‘How can I help you?’
‘Uh, it’s Dr Beck,’ he said, grinning. She nodded and made a note on her pad. ‘I have a small issue with a client.’
Levi explained the situation with Nikki, without using names. He explained his cautioning her not to have any more injections and the notes he left on her chart and the fact that another doctor in the clinic performed a procedure on her anyway, causing the current problem. He also explained about the compensation they’d already agreed to, and the fact that it had been decided Levi’s insurance would pay for it, not the doctor in question. He didn’t tell her that doctor was his brother.
‘And now?’ she asked. ‘Is she unhappy about the compensation? Does she want more money?’
‘There’s a problem with the insurance,’ he said.
Alexis frowned. ‘What kind of problem?’
Levi groaned and dropped his head into his hands for a moment. He was about to open a very large can of worms.
‘Can’t I just pay her out of my own pocket?’
‘Why would you do that? You weren’t at fault.’
He took a deep breath. ‘Yes but, if this goes any further, it will be bad for the clinic.’
Bloody Jonah and his double dipping. His mother was also to blame for this mess––not that he’d told her yet. Tessa had made sure no one let Catherine know Nikki had been in, but he didn’t know how long he could keep everyone quiet. His mother would find out eventually, unless he could find a way to fix it before it turned into an even bigger mess.
‘Why? Surely this has happened before? The client was cautioned and told not to proceed?—’
‘Jonah told her it would be okay,’ Levi said and then shook his head, cursing himself for letting his brother’s name slip.
‘You’re in this position because of your brother?’
He nodded.
Alexis’ face went hard, and he could tell she was holding back words that she really wanted to say. She took a breath and resumed her professional fa?ade.
‘Okay, so, what is the problem with the insurance?’ she asked.
‘The procedure was billed as a skin check,’ he said.
Alexis frowned.
‘You know the Medicare codes used when you go to the doctor to determine whether it is bulk billed or whether you get a rebate?’
She nodded slowly.
‘Jonah used the code for a skin check.’
‘O-kay,’ she said. ‘So…’
‘So the procedure isn’t covered by insurance—I think that’s how it works—and then there’s the issue of what she paid and what the clinic claimed and… and it’s messy. Really messy.’
Alexis put the pad and pen down and came back over to sit next to him, tucking her arm through his and resting her head on his shoulder again.
‘Are you this affectionate with all your clients?’ he asked, trying to lighten the moment.
‘Only the ones I really like,’ she replied.
They lapsed into silence, and it was a long moment before she spoke again. ‘I can’t say that medical insurance is my area of expertise, but… I could find out more information for you? I know someone?—’
Levi stiffened. ‘You can’t tell anyone?—’
‘I’m not going to tell anyone. I can ask advice without naming names.’
Levi let out a slow breath. ‘Okay,’ he said. ‘But… I just want to know what my options are.’
‘You want to protect your family,’ she said.
‘Yeah,’ he replied. ‘But I also want to compensate Nikki. I know she went against my advice, but Jonah should never have done the procedure. I feel bad for her too.’
‘And the Medicare thing?’
Levi shrugged. ‘I don’t know,’ he replied.