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Lena could see that he was trying to be cool, but he was bouncing up and down on his toes slightly as they waited for the elevator.

The doors of the elevator slid open, and a rush of power suits, briefcases, and expensive haircuts streamed past them.

Lena's dad pulled at the cuffs of his white oxford shirt, as if to make sure they covered his tattoos. His blond hair curled over the collar of his shirt.

He's probably going to get one of those stockbroker haircuts now, thought Lena. Sad.

They stepped onto the elevator, and a woman in a crisp business suit stepped on behind them, fingers flying on her cell phone. She punched the elevator button for 27.

As the doors whooshed shut, her father said to Lena, "Push the button for twenty-nine."

"Really?" said Lena. "Twenty-nine?"

He nodded, beaming. "Practically in the clouds."

The woman glanced at Lena's dad, her gaze lingering. She closed her cell phone.

Lena was used to women ogling her dad. Her mom called him a computer nerd trapped in the body of a hot guy.

Reaching for the 29 button, Lena said, "Wow, Dad. Practically the penthouse. Or do they just want to keep you far away from the general public?" She pressed the button. A moment later, her stomach dropped as the elevator shot up. She reached out to grasp the handrail at the back of the elevator. "Why is it ... so fast?" she asked, feeling as if she couldn't catch her breath.

"This express elevator only goes between the sixteenth and the thirtieth floors," said her father. He grinned, his blue eyes shining. "Fast, huh? Did you leave your stomach on the first floor? Lena?"

She closed her eyes and held tighter to the handrail. Almost there, she told herself. Just hold on.

"Lena? What's wrong?"

She couldn't answer. There was a growing pressure in her ears.

"Selena." She felt her father's hand on her arm.

"Are you okay?" shrilled the woman.

The elevator halted with a ding, and the doors opened at 27.

Lena clung to the handrail, trying to catch her breath.

The woman moved toward the exit, looking concerned. "Do you want to get off?" She held the doors open.

Lena shook her head.

The woman took her hand away, and the doors slid shut.

"Honey, what's going on?" asked her dad.

The elevator rose, and the pressure in Lena's ears ballooned.

Ding. 29.

Lena stumbled out. The floor seemed to tilt under her feet. She opened her mouth in a yawning motion to clear the pressure in her ears. "Nothing," she said finally. "I just felt weird for a second."

"You did? Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine." She shrugged away from his hand. "Let's just go see your new office, okay?"

He studied her for another moment, then nodded. "Okay. Then we'll get an early lunch. Did you eat this morning?"

"Dad, I eat every morning." Hadn't he seen her sitting at the breakfast table, eating the same English muffin and yogurt she always ate? No, he'd been too buzzed about visiting the office. And of course Cole was yammering on about football, and Mom was muttering about caterers (she was an events planner), so Dad had been distracted, to say the least.

They reached a pair of heavy glass doors, with two ws etched on them, and stepped into the reception area. A gray-haired man was speaking to the receptionist and turned to glance at them.

"Brian." The man approached, hand outstretched. "You made it. Good."

Lena's father shook the man's hand. "Don. Good morning," he said, his voice deepening into what Lena thought of as Dad's I'm-Being-Serious-Now voice. "This is my daughter, Lena. Lena, this is Mr. Wolinsky."

Wolinsky and Wellman Consultants. Must be one of the bosses, she thought. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Wolinsky."

"Call me Don, please." He smiled. "We're all looking forward to working with your father."

She smiled, too. "Great."

"This is Karen," continued Don, indicating the receptionist.

"Nice to meet you, Lena," she said. "What lovely hair! You have your father's blond hair."

"Thanks."

"In ten years I probably won't have any of it left," her father said, chuckling. "I'll have