Shadowboxer by Jessica L. Webb

Author:Jessica L. Webb [Webb, Jessica L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781635552683
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Published: 2018-08-18T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

“We’re supposed to grease the pan. Who has grease? Can you even buy grease?”

“It means, like, butter or oil, you idiot.”

“Shit. Can someone else crack the eggs? I think I just cut my finger on a shell.”

Jordan leaned against the doorway of the kitchen at the community centre, watching half a dozen of her kids try to make a cake. It was a sweet scene, except for the swearing. They’d insisted on making a cake from scratch, though none of them had ever done it before. But Constable Shreve deserved a real birthday cake, vanilla with chocolate icing. So Jordan had bought the ingredients and booked out the community kitchen after school. Word had gone out at the boxing gym that everyone was invited to help out. Rupert and five girls, including Madi, had shown up.

“Mix on high for two minutes,” Madi called out, peering at the recipe on her phone.

“Am I high? Is that how this recipe is going down?”

Jordan raised an eyebrow as the kids laughed. The girl who’d made the joke pretended to look apologetic but at least she seemed to get the message about the drug humour.

“Hand mixer is in the drawer to your right, Rupert,” Jordan called out.

A scuffle broke out getting the beaters into the hand mixer. They were mostly laughing, though a fair bit of their constant fight was for dominance. Jordan found the most exhausting thing about working with these kids was their unquenchable need for power, respect, and control. Even in a simple task like baking a birthday cake.

The door to the kitchen opened and Ali walked in. She was wearing dark jeans, a button-up shirt, and a blazer, and she had a beat-up but expensive leather bag slung over one shoulder. She was smiling but was obviously tired.

“Hey, JP.”

“Hey. What are you doing here?” Jordan indicated the mild chaos of the kitchen. “Coming to help bake?”

Ali gave a short laugh. “I wish. I’ve got to try and catch the last flight out to Toronto tonight. Central office is having a panic about an investor application…” Ali ran her hand distractedly through her hair and blew out a breath. “Blah, blah investment and corporate policy shit.”

“Sounds like a lot of fun,” Jordan said sympathetically. “Need a ride to the airport? I can try and find someone to supervise the crew.”

Ali waved away the offer. “No, but thanks. I’ve called a cab. I just wanted to tell you I was leaving this time. I’m not running away.”

Ali was nearly babbling, completely uncharacteristic. Jordan put a hand on Ali’s arm, just a light touch, the brush of her thumb over Ali’s bicep before she dropped her hand again.

“Hey, it’s fine. You don’t owe me your schedule. But thanks for letting me know.” Ali swallowed, like she wanted to say something else. Jordan waited but nothing else materialized. “You look beat.”

“I am. It’s been a long week. And I’ll be up most of tonight trying to get up to speed for the conference call tomorrow.

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