She wouldn’t make that mistake again.
He opened the door and let her step inside, and she welcomed the cool rush of air that greeted her. They walked past the huge blown-up photographs of the stars of the Miami Thunder and toward the office area.
“I’m going to check in with Ian. He said he’d get me set up in an office for the duration,” Ethan said.
They stopped by the outer area of Ian’s office. His secretary sat right inside.
She forced a smile. “I’m sure he’ll make certain you’re well taken care of.”
“Where’s your office?” Ethan asked.
She wished she could tell him that information was on a need-to-know basis… and he didn’t need to know. But again, that would be acting infantile, and she had no choice but to treat him like an adult and an important member of the team she’d been hired to work on.
“I’m over there.” She gestured down the hall. “Olivia and I share a tandem office. She had extra room and that’s where they put me.”
Feeling light-headed, she leaned against the wall, letting the coolness from the wall seep into her skin.
“What’s wrong?” he immediately asked, his hand coming to her waist.
She wished she could shrug it off, but that would be too much motion right now. “I’m just a little dizzy. I’ll be fine.” Except she wasn’t.
The only warning she got was a buzzing in her ears and a rush of sensation to her head before she realized she was about to faint.
“I need to sit.” Before he could react, she lowered herself to the ground, hoping to prevent the inevitable, but the next thing she knew, she blacked out.
* * *
Ethan grabbed Sienna’s body before she hit the floor, her muscles giving out on her as she collapsed into his arms. He managed to ease her down without her head taking a hit on the wall or the ground.
“Ian!” Panicked but keeping his wits about him, he called for her brother, who Ethan knew was already in his office behind them.
He heard noise from the other side of the wall and then Ian appeared, taking in the situation immediately.
“Dorothy, call 911,” he yelled into the office, then knelt down beside them. “What happened?”
“She leaned against the wall, said she was dizzy, and next thing I knew, she was out.” Ethan stroked her hair off her face and noticed her lashes fluttering as she came back to herself.
“Oh my God. Did I faint?” Sienna struggled to sit, but Ethan kept a tight hold on her.
“Don’t move too quickly. You’re likely to pass out again.”
Ian grasped her hand. “What happened?”
She shrugged. “I haven’t been feeling well. I came in for the meeting anyway and I got dizzy.”
“Have you eaten today?” Ethan asked.
She shook her head. “I was nauseous this morning.”
Ethan frowned. In the two weeks since he’d seen her in New York, he noticed she looked more fragile, like she’d lost some weight, but then last night she’d devoured three slices of pizza like a person starved. He hadn’t given it another thought.
“I called 911,” Ian’s secretary, a young redheaded woman, stuck her head out the door and said.
“Oh no. That’s not necessary. I’m feeling better already.”
“Too bad,” Ethan said, his tone making it clear he wouldn’t accept an argument.
“I agree.” Ian patted her hand. “Given everything in your past, better safe than sorry.”
Her glare at him could cut ice, and Ethan knew he wouldn’t be getting an explanation about what Ian had been referring to. Not that he wouldn’t try for one later.
Right now he was worried about Sienna.
“What’s going on?” Olivia rushed out of the office at the far end of the hall and joined everyone surrounding Sienna. She and Ian shot each other concerned glances which made Ethan uneasy.
Finally, the paramedics showed up, took her blood pressure, pronounced it low, and at Ian’s insistence, they took Sienna to the hospital for tests. Because he whispered with the paramedics, Ethan still didn’t know what the main concern was; however, he agreed she needed to be looked at by a doctor.
It was on the tip of his tongue to insist he’d ride with her in the ambulance, except he realized how ridiculous he would look and that doing such a thing would shine a spotlight on his relationship with Sienna. The exact thing he’d been trying to avoid by suggesting a secret affair.
He scowled, watching as Ian climbed into the back with his half sister and accompanied her to the hospital. Although Ethan was worried about how it would look, he headed to his car and drove directly to the emergency room anyway, wanting to know if she was okay. Considering she’d collapsed in his arms, he didn’t think anyone would question his presence there.
In the waiting area, he met up with Olivia and Ian. Obviously the family phone chain had been active on the ride over because, one by one, men and women with the familiar Dare features strode into the room and were filled in on what they knew so far.