We didn't hear from Maria again. All the better.
With or without her, my business kept expanding, to the point where the person on top of it became a CEO responsible mostly for numbers, and not for the hand-on work I liked the most in the antiquities dealership.
But with how "good" I was with numbers, the role of the CEO could only belong to JJ. We made it official, registering as partners, now that the laws allowed vampires to own businesses. JJ found a joy in putting numbers together and people at the right places. I found joy in finding stories of old items and bringing them to people who would appreciate them with lots of money. In our company, my role was that of a top-level expert used for the most special occasions and the most important deals. And a figurehead, of course.
