There was visible swelling at the crotch of more than one of them.For the rest of the week, Maria's torment was subtly restricted to what she saw arou...d her in the office. She tried to seek refuge in work, but more and more the financial and business aspects of the sex-toy division took over. Maria took some grudging pleasure in that the company was hugely profitable. But right outside her door, Deb's clothing managed to make her look more shameful than if she was naked. But Deb was no longer. " You can't be alone anymore, Boss." He made it sound like an order.Boss?I guess that expecting any less was ludicrous after they witnessed me survive a damn good assassination attempt."I know what you're doing to the ladies, changing them and stuff, but they don't have the experience protecting people in your situation." And you do?" I asked.He shrugged. "I went out with John-John to find some fellas I knew; they can do the job. They'll go through doors first and make people want to stay at a. There were dozens of famous actors and actresses and their significant others. There were movie producers, directors, and a few odd make-up artists and crew members. There were only a few members of Greg's family on this side of the room. His mother and sister were there and two people he identified as cousins. He was estranged from his father for reasons he had never explained to either Jake or Celia and his older brother had elected not to come for reasons that were also unexplained.Celia's. I had a pretty good idea of what it was about."Mr. Peterson, are you aware that you've been listed as a missing person?" Well, no," I responded, "but I guess I'm not surprised."The ranger and I spoke for a bit about my situation, and he said he would call the detective that filed the report and explain. Still, as we parted, he said, "Doug, call your wife, and let her know you're okay." I told him I would, and went to grab my phone.I turned on my phone to find I had sixty-eight messages, then.