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I begin to read the article.
OH, HOW WE LOVE A LADIES’ MAN!
Brandon Stawarski, the owner of Stawarski Media Corporation, has always been known for his penchant for successful and stunning women in New York City, even if only for a brief period of time. Today,Enchantétakes a deep dive into the billionaire's past relationships. Although Stawarski, now 45, has never been married, we can't help but wonder if the next woman on this list will be the one to change that!
I feel worse than I’ve ever felt in my life, but Danielle’s article still makes me crack a smile, as does the fact that I know she’s trying her hardest to be inflammatory.
1. Nora Hudson: At the age of 30, Brandon Stawarski met 23-year-old actress, Nora Hudson, who had publicly expressed her disdain for Stawarski Media in the past. Despite her comments, Stawarski quickly won her over, and the pair began dating after a two-week media frenzy. Two months later, Hudson gave an explosive interview to Stawarski TV, causing a stir in the entertainment world and causing her to eat her previous words.”
I pause, my smile fading. Something about that story feels oddly familiar.Almostlike I’d lived it before.
2. Brenda Kipperman: This is a story that shook the world about fifteen years ago. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, Brenda Kipperman, made a subtle dig at the Stawarski brothers during her acceptance speech, criticizing their preference for “publishing flowery, acceptable news” instead of “news that has the power to shake and rock the world—real, pressing news.” The real news of that month was that she and Brandon got together just weeks after her speech. It certainly shook my adolescent world and caused many to think less of Brenda Kipperman, but she seems unbothered by it. “Dating Brandon was delightful,” she reportedly said five years later.
My brows furrow. How isthisaccurate? How is it possible that Brandon could get a Pulitzer Award winner to change her opinions about him because hedatedher?
3. Elena Hartmann: Elena Hartmann was a Victoria’s Secret model who rose to fame over the last decade. During the show of ’08, Elena was theonlymodel interviewed who did not mention the Stawarskis as one of her numerous celebrity crushes. When the interviewer asked why, she’d said, “They’re just too vanilla, aren’t they?” Well, maybe not! Because guess who landed herself a Stawarski brother after that interview? It’s a tale as old as time…in Brandon’s world! Girl hates boy, boy wins girl over, girl falls head over heels (sometimes jeopardizing her career), and they head off into the sunset together (well, not really on that last part).
The wave of nausea almost knocks me off my chair. I lurch to my feet, nearly tripping over the wires around my desk as I stumble out of the office, my hand clasped over my mouth. In my haste, I collide with Ella, who appears to be heading towards Hayley's office. She opens her mouth to speak, but I don't pause to apologize or listen to her words. Instead, I push past her and the other cubicles, bursting through the bathroom door with a forceful push.
And then, I throw up all over the bathroom floor and the toilet seat.
I collapse on the floor, tears mixing with the snot from my nose. I continue to heave as I sob.
I can't force myself to halt. I would prefer to remain seated here, hunched over the toilet, retching, than face the harsh reality that, from the start, Brandon Stawarski had been manipulating me like a puppet. That, even before I was of high school age, Brandon had honed his skills in charming women into falling for him. That every woman he had dated was someone who barely put up with him, whom he had somehow managed to control and influence, sometimes at the expense of her own career.
And he’d done the same to me.
I heave again, and another wave of vomit comes swimming up my throat. I direct it into the toilet bowl, feeling more tears stream from my eyes.
I think back to the beginning. How Brandon had been perfectly calm with me writing about him. How I’d been upset by how calm he’d been acting, but how I’d finally started to believe him when he’d said he genuinely appreciated my criticism. The flowers he’d sent. The dates we’d gone on. How he’d waited for me to make the first move, so I would be convinced it was all my decision.
Everythinghad been one big, sickening game.
I was like a dozen other women, women who had judged Brandon correctly before he played them.
And I’d let him play me.
Just moments ago, I believed that the most shameful act I allowed Brandon to commit was instructing me to cease writing articles about him. Even that had been humiliating beyond belief. But discovering that I had been a mere pawn in his twisted game didn't just evoke a sense of embarrassment. No, that was too minor a feeling to describe it accurately. It made me feel subhuman, as though I was nothing more than an object for his amusement. All of a sudden, a loud banging on the bathroom stall startles me, and I leap to my feet, panic rising within me.
“Gigi!” Danielle cries. “Are you okay? What’s wrong?”
“Fine,” I croak back in the steadiest voice I can muster. I pull out some wads of paper towels, wipe the mess I made as much as I can, and flush everything. I blot my face dry with another paper towel and take a couple of deep breaths.
Yes, I realized something that shook me to my very core. Butno one else knew. And I was hysterical enough in the office that acting any more out of the ordinary might even threaten my job.
I needto be as composed as I can be.
I push open the stall door, a smile in place for Danielle’s confused frown. “Sorry,” I say. “Food poisoning.”
She seems relieved. “Oh,” she says. “I thought you were…”
Crying.
I walk past her and wash my hands in the sink. We both return to the office together. I offer a stiff apology to Ella before I make my way back to my cubicle.
It happens barely a second after I sit down.
I sit before my computer screen, filled with anger towards both Brandon Stawarski and myself. I'm even more uncertain now about what to do with the article. I touch my belly as if feeling the baby will show me the right way.
