Fortune Favors the Bold: (Epilogue to the Walter Reed Scandal Story)

Ch. 1, part 1: Just another manic Monday...

(Torrey's notes: This first section is mostly dialogue, but this method of storytelling won't be used very heavily in this book. This was the best way I could open the book and give story development and scene. The conversation really happened. :)  Also, for those wondering about the vague reference to the sketch at the end, that detail  comes in the next chapter!)

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I was still in my bathrobe when the phone rang. I didn’t even see the time. I looked at the caller ID. Was it 10:00am already? I caught the last ring, completely unprepared for the call.

“Hey Anne Marie!”

“Hey Torrey! How are you doing?”

Anne Marie is my virtual assistant. I hired her out of desperation last year. I can ill-afford her services but she’s worth every penny. I am the last person in this world that I would expect to proclaim “I have a virtual assistant!” It sounds so pretentious to me. I cringe every time I tell someone that my assistant will put them on my calendar and request that they to speak to her about the details, or when I CC her on a string of emails to introduce her and have her follow up with people requesting my help. But, because of this, I was desperate when I hired her. I had no idea my blog would take off like it did. What started as a hobby turned into one of the top-ranked sites on the internet. Who knew my advice for disabled veterans and their caregivers would be so popular? Who knew my life would be so interesting that people would follow by the thousands? There was no way out now. I had to keep the site running smoothly, and that meant hiring on more help. I could barely afford the costs of running the site, let alone paying for reliable help, so my budget to hire her came from incredibly-creative management of our grocery money.

We meet by phone every Monday because she lives and works more than 3,000 miles away if I fly round trip to meet with her. Honestly, she’s the best investment I ever made for myself. I thank God for her generous discount for her services. She has kept me sane where no one else could.

“Well, to be honest, I am going like a mad dog trying to keep up.”

“I figured you were. What can I help with?”

I didn’t know where to start, so I started by asking her how much time I still had banked. This was a really difficult month. My grocery budget couldn’t be manipulated any more with 2.5 extra mouths to feed. Everything I planned to throw on her plate hinged on knowing this information.

“You’ve got 12 hours on the books.” I paused and sighed audibly. I was so afraid I was tapped out already. This is great news for a change! Twelve hours will pay for her help for the rest of the month, at least, but I would have to find a way to stretch it out. I whispered, “Thank God.” Anne Marie laughed. She knew how much I needed her.

A few months after she started working for me she confessed: “Torrey, I have clients who are CEO’s of Fortune 500 companies, and their schedules are not as tightly wound as yours. You are the busiest client I have.” I came to find out she wasn’t giving me lip service to make me feel better. She was telling the truth. As the owner of her own company, she took me on as her personal client instead of passing me off to one of her employees because my needs were so unconventional and complex.

Collecting my thoughts, I grabbed my cup of coffee and took a sip. “Let’s start with things I already have in the pipeline. What did you find out about the stuff I gave you last week to work on?”

Everything I gave her to do was done except one thing. She said she would send an email with the details, but, some things required information from me in order to take to the next step.