Brandon Colebrooke III and Catherine DeVries Vandermere were independently wealthy and famous in their own right. They didn't know each other personally, even though they attended the same college. However, Brandon and Catherine would soon find they had a lot in common as their lives became intertwined through a mysterious series of incidents.
At twenty years old, Brandon was on top of his game and had accomplished everything he had put his mind to. Well, everything that is, except for one thing — he hadn't yet found his soul mate.
He was an all-star athlete, best of his junior class at a prestigious Ivy League college, in great shape, and looked like the many million dollars he was worth. He was the dream man of every young lady.
And the women were all over him. He could have any one of them he desired, but that was the problem really. Brandon could not find his dream girl amongst the endless stream of gorgeous girls that continuously threw themselves at him. Fantastic though they were, none of them did much for Brandon. Sure, he had lots of incredible sex and it was great getting it on with so many stunning women, but something was always missing.
Brandon Colebrooke III had all the pedigree that came with his name. Suffice it to say he was filthy rich, but had chosen to spurn his trust fund and work his way through college, just to prove something to himself and his cold-hearted father. Most of his personal fortune was invested and under his control, but he still kept within a tight budget for his school expenses, doing his best not to touch these investments. This had quite a sobering effect on Brandon.
One day as he walked back to his apartment after football practice in the late afternoon, he saw an extremely attractive young lady who intrigued him very much. She was about nineteen or twenty years old and seemed very prim and quite well dressed. She moved with an assured elegance, not paying any attention to the many other students about. Brandon immediately understood she was an exemplary person.
He noticed that she seemed very confident of herself and had a definite air of high breeding. As he followed her, she approached a white Mercedes, where a chauffeur opened the door for her and sped off.
'Now this is most interesting,' he thought. She was both gorgeous and mysterious. He had to know who this intriguing young lady was. She seemed to be a student at the college, for she was carrying books and a folio of some sort. As he continued his walk, he vowed to find out who she was.
He methodically set about searching for information about this young beauty but only drew blanks. After some days, he saw her again as she was leaving the Art Department, where inquiries revealed that she was "The Catherine Vandermere," the only child of the richest and most respected alumni of the college.
She was referred to as 'The Princess,' or more often and appropriately, "The Ice Princess," due to her prissy, and allegedly nasty, nature. It appeared that she was as rich as Brandon - perhaps even more so. No one, it seemed, had ever been able to befriend her, much less woo her.
Catherine was a loner, arriving and disappearing without any interaction with the other students. She seemed very isolated in her pristine world of high society and wealthy aristocracy. Of course Brandon was very familiar with that territory. Yet, he was fascinated by this fine young lady and was determined to get to know her. His objective was to intertwine his life with hers seamlessly, and somehow attract her with his charms. She certainly appeared worthy of his attention.
This was the very sort of challenge that Brandon loved. He was someone important and famous, a campus celebrity, and of course filthy rich. But he didn't want to play off that, for he wanted to win her by his personal qualities. He was so tired of the endless beauties who threw themselves at his feet simply because of who he was, without really knowing anything about him.
First, he hired a very discrete private detective to accumulate every morsel of information about this beautiful young lady. When Brandon received the dossier on her, he was amazed to find out how down to earth she was in spite of her incredible wealth.
Catherine Vandermere Age 20, single, no boyfriends, an only child. Parents Vanessa and Roderick Vandermere, net worth 890 million dollars Businesses owned by Catherine: Crown Hotel chain, Burness Real Estate, Topica Mall & other businesses hidden by proxy, net worth 250 million dollars Sports & hobbies: Riding, tennis (not actively) and a great passion for art College: Junior Art major at Coolidge University, minor in economics, 3.5 grade average Job: works part time for The Art Barn four days a week, three hours a day. Friends: none. She maintains a very private life and only associates with the managers of her businesses.
Many more details were given in the report.
It seemed she was a very balanced, yet discrete young lady. She always avoided the public eye, even though she was involved in so many things that brought attention. She appeared to have all good qualities, and beneath the princess exterior she was surprisingly normal. It was just that not many knew her at all, and even fewer knew what she was really like. People in such ideal material circumstances are all too often spoiled by it.
Brandon's PI's research revealed that she used her immense wealth to shield herself from the influence of the faults of other rich persons, rather than indulge in their false lifestyle. She remained unaffected by her wealth and position and kept herself very aloof. Yet, quite concerned that several prospective suitors whom she dated a few times were actually attracted to her wealth more than herself, she snubbed most advances with her ice-like exterior personality. Brandon realized that knowing so much about her gave him a very large advantage over her. He looked forward to the challenge of attracting her.
Greatly intrigued by her person and profile, he paid the detective handsomely and requested more information, wanting to know her every thought, desire, and habit. Such information was only forthcoming to the most expert detective, yet it was priceless indeed.
Besides working several afternoons each week at a nearby art gallery, to facilitate her love of art, she was majoring in art at his college, only taking a light load of courses and a few art lessons a week. This was quite a relaxed schedule; it seemed that she indulged herself at a leisurely pace.
The research pointed out only very positive things about her and Brandon thought that this was too good to be true; can she really be this perfect? There must be something wrong with her; she must have some dark secrets, some skeletons. Everyone has something they are hiding, don't they?