He stood up and walked over to the coffee machine and drew down a cup and filled it. “Cream or sugar?”

Nest shook her head. She no longer wanted the coffee. She thought if she drank it, she would throw it right back up. She was physically sick to her stomach, her head was throbbing, and there was a buzzing in her ears. But it was the uneasiness that roiled through her like a riptide that commanded her focus.

“Nest, you don’t look well,” Carole Price said suddenly, concern shadowing her blunt features.

“I am a little queasy,” she admitted. “I think maybe it was something I ate at breakfast.”

“Do you want to lie down for a little while? We’ve got some beds that aren’t in use, up on two.”

Nest shook her head. “No, I just need to … you know, maybe what I need is to go back up and get some fresh air for a moment.”

Carole Price was on her feet instantly. “Here, I’ll take you right up. Ray, forget about that coffee. I don’t think it’s what she needs just now. C’mon, Nest, come with me.”

She took Nest’s arm and led her toward the elevator. “Nice meeting you, Nest,” Stefanie Winslow called after her. “Maybe I’ll see you later.”

“Bye, Nest,” Ray Hapgood said. “You take care.”

Carole Price had her almost to the elevator when the doors opened and Simon Lawrence stepped out. She knew him right away from his pictures in the magazine articles and books. He was dressed in jeans with the sleeves of his plain blue workshirt rolled up, but there was something polished and elegant about the way he held himself as he stepped out of the lift and smiled at her.

He held out his hands. “Here, here, what’s this? Carole, where are you taking her? She just got here. I haven’t even met her yet. Is everything all right?”

“She’s feeling a little queasy, that’s all,” Carole replied, slowing. “I was taking her up for some air.”

Simon Lawrence took Nest’s hands in his own and held them. “Well, we can’t have you getting sick,” he said. “You go on upstairs, Nest, and we’ll talk later. I want you to know that I’m very pleased you’ve come to see us. I didn’t realize you were a friend of John’s, but I certainly know who you are.”

Everyone stared at them, confused. Simon Lawrence laughed. “You don’t recognize her, do you?” He shook his head. “I have got to get you out of the office more, all of you. Or at least reading the papers about something besides the homeless once in a while. Ray, I’m especially disappointed in you.” He squeezed Nest’s hands. “This young lady is the best college distance runner in the nation—maybe in the world. She’s been written up in any number of articles as the next Mary Decker Slaney—except that Nest isn’t going to fall when she runs in the next Olympics, are you, Nest? You’re going to win.”