Tiger Mom (Killer Moms #4) - Eve Langlais Page 0,13
to attend so soon.”
“They’re curious. Quite common at that age.” He pointed to another door at the back. “You can use my office if you want to change. Although, I will warn, it’s more of a closet.” His lazy smile brought an answering one.
“Thanks.”
He wasn’t joking about the size of his office. He’d managed to jam a small table against one wall and had shelves bolted above it. Under the table, boxes labeled by year that she’d wager held paperwork. A thin metal stool acted as a seat. The feng shui was off the charts bad. She quickly changed so she could get out of the space.
She emerged to find everyone lined up, facing Ted. Her girls, more eager than expected, had spots in the front row. No, thanks. Portia slid to an empty place in the back.
Ted launched into a series of warm-up motions, easy enough to follow, as she pondered her mission. If she used a lapel pin, could she pack enough punch to project the truth mist at the intended target? An umbrella allowed more room to work with. However, what if it weren’t raining that day? It might never make it inside.
Ted slid from exercises meant to stretch into some basic movements that proved easy and familiar. She slipped into a relaxed routine—too relaxed. When from behind, a voice murmured, “Nice form,” she almost turned and decked Ted. Would have served him right for sneaking up on her. Instead, she froze mid-lunge.
“Thanks. I took a few classe.” Not entirely a lie. She just didn’t mention the years of hand to hand she’d taken after.
“Doesn’t look like you’ve forgotten a thing.” He stepped past her, moving back to the front where he ran them through a few other drills before he clapped his hands. “Find a partner.”
The students paired off, her girls against each other, and others who obviously knew each other split into twos, leaving Portia alone. She could almost predict Ted’s crooked finger.
Ted gestured. “You can work with me.”
“It’s okay, I can watch.”
“Don’t be scared. I won’t hurt you.” He winked.
Wasn’t that just like a man to think her afraid? Old Macey might have been, but Macey died a long time ago. She might have bristled a little more than necessary as she moved to stand in front of him.
Ted turned serious as he explained, “We’ll go through the movements, slowly at first. Let you recognize the pattern and counter-strikes. You’ll see it much like dancing in the way the motions complement each other.”
“I don’t dance.”
His brows rose. “Is that why you said no to our date?”
He remembered asking? She dropped into a stance. Fists out. “I had a test to study for.”
“The dance was a Friday night.” He matched her position.
“I don’t like to do things last-minute.”
“Let me guess, you’re the type who has lists.”
“With sub-lists.” She blocked his slow punch.
“I’ll bet motherhood changed that.”
She snorted and threw a blow of her own, which he countered. “On the contrary, I’ve just become even more efficient.”
“That doesn’t sound like much fun.”
“Says a man who probably thrives on chaos.”
“Actually, I like my world kept tidy.” He grinned as he again threw a fist with exaggerated slowness.
She wanted to yawn. Her next blow snapped a little faster. He blocked it.
His sped up, too. “Your form really is most excellent.”
“You know me, always studying. I’m a bit of a perfectionist.” Try practicing almost every day for two years. Working the more scientific aspects of jobs didn’t mean she wasn’t trained to fight. But she couldn’t exactly admit that she was a trained assassin.
“How high did you go?” He referred to the belts they used to mark progress.
“All the way.”
“Then why sign up for a beginner class?”
She glanced at her twins practicing their moves, no longer bickering preteens but concentrating athletes.
“I thought it would bring us closer together.”
“They think you don’t know how to spar.”
She shrugged. “I’ve learned being a parent sometimes means the occasional white lie.”
“Ever take them back home?”
He referred to their hometown. The query seemed innocuous enough. “Nope. I couldn’t wait to leave, and it’s not as if I had anything to return to.” Her parents, like the rest of the world, thought she was dead. Given her mother was abusive, and her father just plain absent, it wasn’t much of a loss. Last she’d checked, they’d retired to Florida to be closer to her brother, whom they did like.
“How did you enjoy working in China?”
That was a little too knowledgeable.
How did Ted know? Lucky guess