Still

21.

Chapter Twenty One

Jourdan released a deep breath as he entered the office building. This was something he'd never done in his life. It was actually something that he, truthfully, never thought he'd ever need. Growing up, this was probably the most cliché thing he'd ever heard and he thought only truly fucked up people needed to deal with this, but here he was.

Patiently, he sat waiting for this stellar therapist to erupt from her office and fix all of his problems. Nervous was an understatement. He was going to be trusting someone with knowledge of a situation that he was hiding from others. Malik had gotten in his ear and told him that the only way for him to truly move forward, he'd need an unbiased, professional opinion of things.

Denise Sawyer had come highly recommended for the job. She'd been in the field for more than ten years and had a few celebrity clients, none of which she'd actually ever claim to have. Her only goal was simple, she needed to make sure there were more people in the world that were healed and in control of themselves. She cleared her throat, exited her office, and looked around for the next person while her receptionist spoke to her about something totally unrelated.

"Mr. Davis?" She called out, interrupting her receptionist. "You ready?"

Jourdan looked up to her and nodded his head. He stood up from the chair he'd been sitting in and looked over to her receptionist. He listened as she apologized for interrupting her, but wrapped up the conversation. She asked Jourdan to follow her, which he did.

"Well, first things first," she said after closing the door. Jourdan stuffed his hands into his jeans, looking around her office. It was decorated beautifully with a sense of elegance and femininity to it. She had an entire wall dedicated to her degrees and accolades. "My name is Denise Sawyer, you can address me formally or informally by my first name, whichever you're comfortable with."

His eyes trailed down to her. She was a smaller woman, but clearly older than him. He could tell off the bat that she was about her business and just wanted to get right down to it. "D works?" Jourdan asked her. If he could call anyone by a nickname, he would always do it.

Denise smiled brightly. "There we go. Yes, that works well. My friends back in Detroit call me that," she replied happily before taking a seat in her designated chair. She signaled to Jourdan to where he could sit down. She had a pen and pad on hand, but also pulled out her recorder.

Jourdan held his hands up and paused. "First thing first, how confidential is this shit?"

She smiled and crossed her legs. "It is my job to help you in wherever your life journey takes you. I would lose my job and license if I ever even mentioned I saw you. If I see you in public, I cannot even speak with you unless you approach me first. Truthfully, I'd prefer if that ever happened, you don't speak with me."

"Why?"

"I've had a few celebrity clients and the last thing I want is for your personal business to be put out there. Everyone knows I'm a therapist. I've been on numerous shows about this, but I don't want any of my clients linked to me unless they've asked for that, which is usually those on the shows I've done."

"So, you won't talk to anyone about what I'm going to tell you?" Jourdan asked for clarification. "What about shorty in the front office?"

"Shorty in the front office is my sister. I trust her with my life and business. I also pay her a pretty good penny to not ever mention anything. Pissing me off is more of a worry for her," Denise said with a slight laugh, causing Jourdan to smile.

He nodded his head and placed his arms on his knees. "I don't know where to start," he told her truthfully. "I've never...asked for help?"

Denise smiled warmly. "That's usually how it works with first time clients. You know why you decided to come here. No one forced you to come. I usually like to start with the basics. Who are you?"