The Therapist Read online

  The Therapist

  Kelly Holm

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2019 by Kelly Holm

  First printing edition 2019

  All rights reserved.

  Independently published, printed and bound in the United States of America.

  Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.

  Issued in print and electronic formats.

  ISBN: 978-1-0720-7901-9

  Cover Design by Tanja Prokop

  Back Cover by Deborah Dove

  Author Photograph by Francesca Davies

  www.KellyHolmAuthor.com

  Other books by

  Kelly Holm

  Days of Rock & Roll

  For Chris,

  Thanks for always pushing

  me towards excellence

  The Therapist

  Chapter 1

  Larisa Bergman is a very successful real estate agent in Los Angeles. She worked hard for her success, giving up many things to accomplish her goals; including friends, or a husband and family. Larisa had gotten pretty good at navigating the “Boy’s Club” agents and developers, although it took a while, years, in fact, she earned their respect. So, when Mr. Lee, a multi-million-dollar developer, subtly hinted that if she were to sleep with him, he would give her one of his new developments to sell exclusively, she almost lost it.

  As she got into her white Audi A7 to head back to the office, she did her best to calm herself down. Even though she knew she was right for walking out, she felt terrible. She really wanted that building, but there was no way in hell she was going to sleep with Mr. Lee to get it. She couldn’t believe he would do this; she really misjudged his character. As Larisa sat in her parked car, she wondered if she had done something to make him believe she would go for something like that. It’s no use trying to figure him out he’s just a pig, she told herself.

  She pulled the visor down and revealed a lighted mirror. She touched up her eye makeup, reapplied her lipstick, and ran her fingers through her shoulder-length auburn hair. She was naturally a blonde, but after years of trying to keep the color fresh, she decided to take a risk and try an auburn color, and she’s never looked back. Her blue eyes were a little red from all the dust at the construction site, so she squirted a little Visine in them.

  Just as she was pulling into traffic, her phone rang. The caller id said it was Molly, her new assistant.

  “What’s going on, Molly?”

  “I just got a call from Derik Wallen. His client wants to put in a full price offer for 5681 River Drive.”

  “Really, I’m surprised.”

  “Why is that?”

  “When I showed it to his client, neither he nor his wife seemed all that taken with it. In fact, I don’t remember either of them saying anything positive about the house or the property.”

  “He said he'd send the paperwork over immediately; oh, and he needs a ten-day close.”

  “Ten-day close? The Baker’s are never going to go for that. Damn, my day just got worse. I’ll be in the office shortly. When that offer comes through, print it out, and put it on my desk.”

  Larisa had no idea how she would finagle this one, the Baker’s were great clients, but they could be difficult. They typically moved into a new house every three to five years. They like to buy low and fix the property up, live in it for a few years, and then sell it for a profit. They always ask Larisa to find the new homes and sell the old ones, and as long as things progress smoothly, they are happy; but if a problem arises, they became very vocal. Like the last time they moved and realized that they wouldn’t be able to get as much out of the house as they paid in renovations.

  As Larisa rolled up to the stop sign to make a right turn, her heart suddenly started racing, and her hand went all tingly. She knew the signs; this was another one of the panic attacks she had been getting for the past couple years. She turned into the gas station parking lot that was conveniently located on that corner and put the car in park to wait it out. She knew better than to try and drive during one of the attacks.

  The attacks were becoming more frequent these days;

  she wasn’t sure why, but she had a pretty good idea. It was getting close to the twenty-fifth anniversary of the night that changed her life forever. She did her best not to think about it, going so far as to make a pact with herself never to think of it again. She had buried it, and it was over. However, like most things, it was much easier to make the pact then it was to uphold it. She reached into her purse to grab the medication she had gotten for the attacks. After dumping the entire contents of her handbag on the passenger seat, she found the pill bottle… empty.

  Larisa knew this was a problem because she didn’t have any more refills available; she would have to see someone to get it renewed, and this was something she did not want to do. She didn’t like talking about her problems, especially this one. It was always the same, she goes in and tells the doctor or therapist she gets anxiety attacks, and they want to talk it out. There was no way she could ever tell anyone what she did twenty-five years ago.

  Once she pulled into her office parking lot, she was feeling normal again. Molly was waiting for her when she arrived with surprising news. Molly was tall and thin, with soft pink long hair she preferred to wear down with no apparent style. Larisa hired her as a favor to a friend. Molly wasn’t the best assistant she’s ever had, but she also wasn’t the worst.

  “I just got a phone call from Mr. Lee. He said he must speak with you as soon as possible if you want the exclusive on the Berkshire building.”

  “What the damn hell?” Larisa said as she told Molly about her earlier meeting with Mr. Lee.

  “What a pig. What are you going to do?”

  “Well, for starters, I’m not going to sleep with him. I don’t know why he would think I would do something like that to get an exclusive in the first place.”

  “Is he hot?”

  “What does that have to do with anything?”

  “Well, maybe he thought you were attractive and wanted a piece.”

  “I don’t care; it was completely inappropriate behavior.”

  “Maybe; but what if that wasn’t his intention?”

  “Doesn’t matter; either way, inappropriate behavior.”

  “Man, you’re tuff.”

  “I worked way too hard to ruin my reputation by sleeping with a client or developer.”

  “Even if a quick romp could skyrocket your career?”

  “Not happening.”

  “Are you going to take the building if he offers again?”

  “Maybe, if he offers it without the strings. I guess I’ll have to call him.”

  When she called Mr. Lee, he was very apologetic; telling her he was wrong and that the building was exclusively hers if she wants it… no strings attached. Larisa was thrilled but wondered what sparked his sudden change of heart. She accepted, although she still had a few reservations.

  The rest of the day flew past and after multiple phone calls and two difficult negotiations, Larisa was finally ready to call it a day and go home and relax. When she got there, she changed into her favorite Dark Horses concert t-shirt, a pair of black leggings and a thin black sweater, found an intriguing suspense movie on Netflix, and opened a bottle of white wine to enjoy with the sushi she picked up from Sushi Koi, her favorite sushi restaurant,
on her way home.

  That night she had trouble sleeping again. It was the same dream all the time. It starts with her standing in the kitchen of her childhood home, and she’s looking at the white office supply box sitting on the kitchen table. Then the dream fast forwards to the woods, and she can see herself burying the box. Before she covers the box with dirt, she thinks about opening it, but doesn’t. Then she always wakes up in a cold sweat.

  As she lies in bed trying to go back to sleep, she can’t stop her mind from drifting back to that night twenty-five years ago. She often wondered if she should have opened the box one more time before she buried it, just to be sure. She quickly pushed the thought out of her mind. I can’t change things now, she told herself. After a while, she was able to fall back asleep until morning.

  “It’s a beautiful sunny morning here in L.A., and it’s going to be a hot one too, we have temps today reaching ninety-two degrees,” the announcer on the clock radio said, when it went off promptly at 7:00 a.m. She pulled herself out of bed, went into the kitchen and put the coffee on, then took a quick shower and got dressed.

  Larisa had a busy day ahead of her; she would have to be at her best. She had meetings all morning and this afternoon, plus she had to meet with Mr. Lee regarding the details of her new assignment. She also had a listing appointment and a couple of showings scheduled. Larisa was somewhat apprehensive about meeting with Mr. Lee again, but he had apologized, so she believed she should give him a second chance.

  When she got into the office, it was already buzzing like crazy. Phones were ringing off the hook, and clients were coming in left and right. Her morning was starting out well, and she closed three deals by lunchtime. Even though Larisa was incredibly busy, she couldn’t stop her mind from trailing back to the dream she had the night before. She knew it wasn’t healthy to continue going over and over it, but she couldn’t get it out of her mind. She had the same dream almost every night. She told herself it has to be because the anniversary was coming up, and hoped that by next

  week she could put it to rest.

  As Larisa sat at her desk, blankly staring at her computer screen, she let her mind drift back to the night that changed everything. The memories were so vivid, almost like she was really back again. She remembered how she carefully packed the

  contents of the white office supply box and how she waited until the wee hours of the morning to go into the woods to bury it so no one would see her. She took great care to make sure all traces of the contents of the box were gone too, in case Leo, her older brother, happened to stop by for a visit.

  As the memory continues to play, she remembers walking out into the thick forest that backed up to their house to find the best place to bury the box. She must have walked for almost twenty minutes, but she had to be sure she was deep enough in the forest that someone wouldn’t accidentally dig up her box and find her secret. Once she dug the hole, she carefully placed the box inside. She thought about opening the box one last time before burying it, just to make sure, but she didn’t, and it’s haunted her ever since.

  She hadn’t been back to her childhood home since that night. As soon as she buried the box, she walked back to the house, packed a bag, got in her car and drove to Phoenix, Arizona, to start a new life. Larisa vowed never to look back. Once in her car and driving south, she had no idea what she was going to do; all she knew was that she had to change everything about her life.

  “Larisa, Emily Rockman just called. She wants to change the time for that showing today,” Molly said, as she walked into Larisa’s office and sat down in the chair across from Larisa, knocking her out of her memory.

  “Seriously, she always calls to reschedule, I should have known this would happen. What does my afternoon look like? Do I have time, or will I be bumping this to tomorrow?”

  “Let me see… this afternoon…” Molly began, as she casually scrolled through the schedule she had on her Smartphone, “looks like you could squeeze her in around 4:00 p.m. today.”

  “Ok, will you call her and see if that works for her?”

  “Absolutely; and if it does, I’ll call the homeowner and make sure he’s ok with the change in time too. I’ll let you know as soon as I hear something.”

  “Thanks.”

  When Molly got up and went back to her desk, Larisa let herself fall back into the memory. It was the summer of ’93, and Larisa wasn’t Larisa, she was Daisy Mills. She was working as a waitress at the Sunshine Diner in a downtown area of Phoenix, Arizona. The job didn’t pay much, but it was a start. She had been working there for about six months, and then one day she met a customer that would change her life.

  Her name was Lindsey Myers, and she was a big-time real estate broker in Los Angeles. Lindsey was a very well put together woman; wearing a pale-yellow business suit, and her hair neatly pulled into a loose chignon at the nape of her neck, allowing some stray hairs to fall loosely around her face. She was sitting in a booth with a client discussing what sounded like a heated real estate transaction.

  Daisy couldn’t hear all the details of what they were saying, but she could tell by the body language of the lady’s client, that the nicely dressed lady in the pale-yellow suit was getting fired. Her client wasn’t quiet or discrete at all; she yelled profanities at the lady and then abruptly got up and left. Daisy could tell the lady in the business suit was upset, but possibly more embarrassed at the scene that her client made. Daisy watched as the lady quickly composed herself; she felt bad for the lady and wanted to do something nice for her.

  Daisy noticed that Lupe, the other waitress on duty that

  morning, had just put out a freshly baked prickly pear pie, something that the diner was known for. ‘Best prickly pear pie in Arizona!’ the sign on the front window said. It was one of Daisy’s favorite pies too. She walked over, cut a piece, and placed it on a

  plate with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side, and set it down in front of the lady.

  “Excuse me, ma’am, there must be a mistake, I didn’t order any pie.”

  “There’s no mistake, and there’s no charge for the pie. I just thought you needed some cheering up, and this pie is absolutely amazing. Trust me, you won’t feel sad after you try it,” Daisy said, as she left the pie with the lady and went back to her station.

  A few minutes later, the lady wearing the pale-yellow business suit motioned for Daisy to come over to her table.

  “Is there something else I can get you, maybe more coffee?” Daisy asked.

  “I wanted to thank you. This was a really thoughtful gesture. And you’re right, this pie is amazing, and I feel much better.”

  “I’m glad to hear that.”

  “Please, sit for a moment.”

  Daisy looked around and noticed that every table in her section seemed to be okay, so she motioned to the other waitress…

  “Hey Lupe, would you please watch my station, I’m going to take a couple minutes,” Daisy said, as she sat down with the lady.

  “Sure, no problem,” Lupe replied.

  “I’m Lindsey Myers, and you’re Daisy…”

  “Daisy Mills.”

  “You remind me of myself Daisy, many years ago, of

  course. How old are you?”

  “I’m eighteen; I’ll be nineteen next month.”

  “Do you like working here?”

  Daisy shrugged her shoulders and said, “It’s a job.”

  “What would you like to do?”

  “Oh, I don’t know. What do you do, you look very successful.”

  “I am very successful. I’m a real estate broker in Los Angeles.”

  “What does a real estate broker do?”

  “Basically, I sell very upscale houses and condos. I can help you if you’d like.”

  “Help me how, what do you mean?” Daisy was intrigued.

  “Well, and please excuse my forwardness, but you look like a girl who wants more out of life then this cute little diner with amazing prickly pear pie ca
n give you. Am I right?”

  “Sure, that would be great, but don’t have any real skills.”

  “That’s ok. If you’re interested, I can help you change your life. I did it myself almost twenty years ago. My real name is Myrtle Dilly, and I grew up in a very small town in rural Nebraska. I moved west, changed my name, my hairstyle and clothes, and got a job working at a real estate firm as a receptionist. While I was working there, I got my real estate license, and well, I guess the rest is history.”

  “I don’t know; I’m not sure I could sell anything.”

  “Look, I have to catch a flight back to L.A., but here’s my card. If you change your mind or find yourself in Los Angeles, give me a call. I can help you reinvent yourself and start you out in a great career,” Lindsey said, as she got up and handed Daisy her business card.

  “Thank you, I’ll think about it,” Daisy said, as she looked at the card and placed it in her front pocket for safe keeping.

  “Don’t take too long, it’s never too soon to start fresh. And, thanks again for the pie. That was really a nice thing to do, and I really appreciated it.”

  “It was my pleasure,” Daisy replied, as she watched Lindsey walk out of the diner and get into a black Mercedes and drive away.

  Suddenly there was a knock on the door, and Molly popped her head in; pulling Larisa back into the present.

  “Larisa, Mr. Johnson is here to sign those contracts. Do you want me to show him to the conference room?” Molly asked.

  “That would be fine. I’ll be right there. Please offer him some coffee or water while he waits,” Larisa said, as she tried to compose herself.

  “Are you ok? You look tired.”

  “I haven’t been sleeping very well lately.”

  “Is everything ok?”

  “Yes, I’m sure it’s just stress.” Larisa wasn’t about to go into the real reason with Molly. Although she was a good assistant, she couldn’t control her gossiping, and Larisa didn’t want others in the office to know her personal problems.