It's Now or Never (Running from the Billionaire 3)

By Victoria Villeneuve

With the most important race of her life only seconds away, Claire has to find a way to forget about the fact that Oliver bought her this opportunity, and have the run of her life.

When the races are over, will Claire be able to forgive Oliver for hiding what he did? And when Oliver ends up admitting to Claire more than he intended to, will he ruin their relationship forever?

This 15,000 word story is the third and final part of this trilogy.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Diamond Star Publishing
• Release date: Sep 8, 2014
• ISBN: 9781502270542

Book preview

It's Now or Never (Running from the Billionaire 3)

Victoria Villeneuve

Published by Diamond Star Publishing, 2014.

Table of Contents

Title Page

It’s Now or Never

It’s Now or Never

As she remained bent, her muscles quivering with anticipation, her ears trained towards the gun that would soon go off, Claire debated in her head as to what she really wanted. Did she want to win this race? Did she want to go to the Olympics?

Or had Oliver’s betrayal once again soured things for her? Would she be able to enjoy her wins knowing that she had not earned them on merit but rather on the basis of Oliver’s cash? If only she had not allowed him to chime in, but then she hadn’t anticipated that he would donate cash to secure her position.

As she listened to the chanting of the crowd, Claire recalled her last race which she had won. The crowd had awarded her with a thunderous applause. It had been heartwarming to hear so many people clapping for her. No amount of money could buy that respect. An athlete had to earn it by sheer, determined effort, constant practice, and willpower.

And that is what she was here for today. She was going to have to show her effort on the race track. Oliver’s millions couldn’t do anything else. From this point onwards, it was her stamina, work, and determination that would save the day.

He had not bought her win. And he never could. She had to put in the effort to earn the gold medals that hung in her bedroom. 

And when that thought flitted across her mind, Claire braced for the sound of the gun. She was not going to give up now without a fight. No matter what people said, she had earned this spot on this race track because she had performed well for the past number of years. She had won so many medals, broken records, and damn near driven herself crazy with her harsh training schedules.

No one was going to take away this glory from her.

When the gun went off, she was ready. Claire shot off her spot with speed and agility. The roar of the crowd faded into the background, the worry over Oliver’s donation vanished into a corner of her mind, the nagging feeling she had about what people were saying all disappeared in an instant. Now, it was her and the white lines on the race track.

A light breeze flitted across her face, but nothing could expunge the sweat that dribbled down as she ran down the track. Her legs ate up the distance. Vaguely, in one corner of her mind, she was aware of the position of her fellow runners. She was smack dab in the middle. There were a few behind her, and a few in front of her. But she wasn’t worried yet. There was plenty of time to pull up ahead.

She didn’t want to waste all her energy in the first lap. Claire paced herself as she had taught herself to do so over the past many weeks, and for years before that. She had to measure the distance, the speed of the other competitors, and the time. Calculate how much energy she could expend now, and how much she would have left if she pushed at any given moment. She couldn’t allow herself to give too much, even if she felt good. She knew how fast she should be running, and Claire knew she had to stick to that speed. Everything had to be calculated in her mind within seconds as she covered the ground. Finally, they were past the first lap, and she was fourth place.

Claire moved into her favorite lane and picked up speed. If nothing else, the bronze was hers as long as she maintained this position. But she wasn’t here to win any other medal. Her eyes were on the gold because that was her ticket to the Olympics.

Nothing less than the gold medal would do on this particular day.

Claire raced ahead of the third athlete just as the second lap came to a finish. It was Sarah, and she was already breathing hard. Sarah was a sprinter. Her strength was her speed, but she didn’t have Claire’s stamina. After gunning past her, Claire set her eyes on her next target. After she crossed the next bend, Claire pushed herself a little more and whizzed past the second athlete. The crowd went mad as she stayed a few steps behind the athlete who was leading the pack.

When they entered the final lap, she bore down. Claire didn’t hear anything except the sound of her own breathing that