Book Blurb & Info
In his gripping, adrenaline-packed memoir, Rush takes readers on his rocket-fueled journey after a trip to the corner grocer to buy food for his beloved cat, Conway Kitty, leads to the discovery that he has won Canada’s $50 million Lotto Max jackpot.
Soaring on a seemingly endless endorphin high, Rush spends the months following his win traveling, feeding his passion for rare sports cars, considering charitable causes, and splurging on friends — paying off their debts and even giving them a free place to stay in million-dollar homes. But his world comes crashing down when he discovers that Dave Crawford, a man he loved like an older brother and had generously provided for, has served him up to his con artist son, Jeremy — who scams Rush out of nearly $5 million.
Reeling from Dave’s betrayal and fueled by the discovery that the Crawfords are serial con artists who have devastated the lives of more than a hundred others, Rush embarks on a mission to take his adversaries down. But as his quest for justice drags on, his festering rage reaches a boiling point and he is faced with a choice: Let the Crawford’s cons destroy him, or re-focus his attention on doing good in the world and enjoying the enormous gift he has been given.
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Book Excerpt
Prologue
November 1, 2015
My attorney’s words swept through me,
triggering a tidal wave of panic and rage.
“We
have got to talk, Randy,” he said, the color gone from his face. “We’ve got big
problems.”
I could feel my legs trembling, my
hands balling into fists. I knew it.
I had
known it ten days earlier during my drive to Scottsdale. It’s why I had put
together an impromptu business team and flown them all to Arizona. I needed
professionals who could help me get to the bottom of everything before it was
too late.
Anger surged
through me as I continued
to take in my
attorney’s words. “Ryan and I finally managed to corner Jeremy and ask about
your assets and money. Jeremy says it’s all his. He says you have nothing.”
Those last words knocked
the air out of me. I was so stunned that for a minute, I couldn’t speak. What
did he mean it was all HIS? I put up the $4.6 million investment. It was
my money— all of it.
My eyes
flew across the
rooftop deck of
the W Hotel, searching the throngs of people for the
scumbag who thought he could steal my money. My stomach clenched each time my
eyes landed on yet another person enjoying a $15 cocktail while feasting on
overpriced finger foods.
Who were these
people anyway? They certainly
weren’t Justin Timberlake,
Taylor Swift, or the other celebrities I was told would be attending the
company launch party. They were likely freeloaders who had been rounded up off
the street to enjoy the party I was footing.
Before
I could locate him, Jeremy was standing next to me. His eyes were bloodshot and
bugging out of his head.
“Great
party, huh, Randy?” he said, moving his face close to my ear.
I dug
my fingernails into my palms to keep from breaking his legs.
“It’s
okay,” I replied, forcing my voice to stay measured. I
knew if
I lost control of myself, there was no turning back.
I must
have hit a nerve because his face immediately turned red and the veins in his
neck looked like overblown balloons ready to pop.
“What
do you mean? I think it’s awesome.”
Now it
was everything I could do to keep from breaking both his arms and his legs.
“Pardon
me?” I snapped back. “What did you just say to me? I would never talk to you in
those terms and you won’t talk to me in those terms. You’ve been told and warned.”
My tone was still measured, but there
was a lethal edge to it. Jeremy took a step back.
“You’re
done, Rush,” he snarled before slinking back into the safety of the crowd. “I’m
finished with you.”
13 Billion to One
Every
nerve in my body was burning, but before I could scream, “Jeremy, you’re
fired!”, chase him down, and shove him into the rooftop pool, my friend Chris
intervened.
“Come
on, Randy, let’s go,” he urged. “Let’s figure out how to get this piece of
scum.”
I
forced my legs to follow him to a hotel conference room that Ryan had just
secured so we could regroup and come up with a game plan.
I felt
like I was sinking, as though I had stepped into a pool of quicksand and was
already in too deep to get out.
Why
hadn’t I listened to my gut? Why had I been such a fool?
The red
flags and warning
signs from the
previous five months began
flashing through my mind: Jeremy’s new Ferrari and Porsches,
his ongoing pressure
for more money,
the repeated lies and stonewalling when my team had asked basic
questions about company operations and finances.
My
thoughts fueled my rage, but they also ignited an intense pain inside of me. It
was one thing to be taken by a stranger, but
quite another to
be so personally
betrayed by people
I considered family.
It was
because of my love for Dave that I had even agreed to meet with his son, let
alone trust him enough to invest $4.6 million in his technology business
venture. Now it was clear that Dave and his wife, Shirley, were not only aware
of their son’s intentions, they were in on it.
I paced
the room as
my newly assembled
business team began mapping
out a legal
strategy to regain
my assets and money. I could hear the company launch
party continuing on the rooftop deck—the music being blasted by the DJ who had
been flown in from Toronto for the evening and the muffled laughter between
songs.
Rage
once again took over, permeating every cell in my body.
9
I was going to make
everyone who was involved in this in any way pay. I didn’t care how long it
took, or how much money I’d have to spend on legal fees and investigative
research. I was going to get justice. And it started with ending the gravy
train for my one-time friends.
I
grabbed my cell phone and pounded out the message I
couldn’t wait for Dave and Shirley to read.
“As soon as you are back
in Canada, I want the two of you to pack your things and get out of my house,”
I typed. “Your son just ripped me off for $4.6 million and I want you gone.”
Toot's Review by Betty Bee
This book is truly a non-fiction gem and a bestseller waiting to happen!
Canadian Randy Rush unexpectedly won 50 million dollars in the lottery and his life was changed forever—and not just for the better. The first thing Randy did after finding out that he won was make a list. He wanted to do things like help his friends with their debts, make a large donation to his church and other charities, and quit his boring job. All things that I think many of us daydream about doing.
From the start, Randy was cautious and hesitant to allow other people in his town know that he had won, at least until the lottery made the announcement and the news cameras and reporters came out. After all, if people find out that you have money, some can feel entitled to it for no reason. But all of that caution did not help Randy when a family friend’s son asked him to invest in his tech start up. Thinking that it was a sound investment, Randy agreed, only to find out later that he has been scammed.
This book was very well written and easy to read. I felt like I was watching a movie as I was reading, the pacing and action were so perfect. I love when memoir writers pay attention to traditional pacing elements because it really creates a masterpiece of a book and '13 Billion to One' is just such a masterpiece. Rush has such a talent for writing that I definitely think he should use it again in the future.
As for how things worked out after his friend betrayed him, well, you're going to have to read the book to find that one out yourself. But suffice it to say that I was on the edge of my seat.
I really appreciated the overall message in this book and how the ending worked out. Definitely worth a read! I give it 5 out of 5.
Author Info
He divides his time between Canada and Europe.
Website: http://randall-rush.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheRandyRush
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/randyrushauthor/
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