‘Very good. Please arrange for a selection of pastries and extra-strong coffee to be delivered there.’
Now that they were here, Cassidy sensed the huge responsibility that truly faced her boss and she couldn’t help feeling sorry for him. Her small problem of having to find another place to live seemed minute in comparison.
‘Follow me,’ Logan directed, striding through two huge wooden doors that stood about twenty feet tall.
They made their way towards the rear of the palace and Cassidy barely knew where to look as they passed through the vaulted, richly carpeted hallways lined with antique furniture and centuries-old artwork interspersed with oak-tree-thick marble pillars. The feeling was one of peace and serenity and if she hadn’t been rushing to keep up with her boss she would have slowed her pace to fit the setting.
The King’s formal offices were made up of four rooms, large and airy with French-style windows that overlooked emerald-green lawns bordering the river. The Arrantino mountain range majestically filled in the backdrop, the sky already a blinding azure blue.
The main office was uncluttered and contemporary, a large walnut desk taking up the centre position with comfortable cream sofas beneath French windows, and centuries-old paintings and modern bookcases lining the walls. This room alone was the size of her apartment back home and it was difficult not to gape.
‘Do you want me to use the desk we passed on the way in?’ she asked, her tablet in her hand as she prepared to stop gawping and get down to business.
‘No. Set up on the sofa for now. I’m assuming Leo’s private secretary uses that desk so I’ll have another one brought in here temporarily.’
As soon as he spoke a slender woman with the grace of a dancer stepped into the office. With midnight-black hair, red lips and the build of a greyhound, she looked like she belonged on the set of a nineteen-fifties French film noir.
‘Welcome, Your Highness.’ Even her voice was smoky-soft with mystery. ‘The King sends his apologies for not being here to greet you.’
‘Margaux. It’s good to see you again. This is Cassidy, my assistant. We’ll need a desk brought in here. Can you arrange it?’
‘Of course, sir. Is there anything else?’
‘You don’t happen to know the whereabouts of my brother, do you?’
‘No. He didn’t say.’
Logan’s mouth pressed into a flat line. ‘I’ll want a debrief soon, but I’ll let you know when.’
‘As you wish. I’m at your disposal.’
Wondering just how much the other woman would be at his disposal, Cassidy caught the catty thought and banished it. Margaux had acted like a consummate professional—just as she needed to do—and she set her phone and laptop on the coffee table while she replied to a new email that had just come in requesting data on a deal they had not long closed.
Relieved to have work to focus on, she emptied her mind of everything else, only stopping to enjoy a delicious pastry and welcome cup of coffee from a team of servants who came and went as discreetly as mice.
An hour later an older woman who was sharply beautiful with styled blonde hair and timeless blue eyes a shade lighter than Logan’s entered, almost breathing fire.
‘Logan.’ She didn’t bother knocking as she swept into the room. ‘It’s good to see you. Leo said that he had brought you up to speed on the crisis.’
Logan bowed in greeting before kissing the woman on both cheeks. ‘He’s informed me of what he intends to do. I plan to change his mind about it. May I introduce you to Cassidy Ryan, my executive assistant.’
The woman cast Cassidy an appraising glance under which she felt like squirming.
/> ‘Cassidy, my mother, Her Majesty, Queen Valeria.’
His mother?
Shocked, Cassidy wobbled to her feet and lowered into what she hoped was a decent curtsy. ‘Your Majesty, it’s a pleasure to meet you. You have a lovely home.’
The Queen barely gave her a nod, dismissing her out of hand as she turned back to her son. ‘Do you know where Leo has gone? He hasn’t apprised me of his whereabouts.’
‘Not specifically,’ Logan said. ‘Only that he’s taking care of the woman he’s currently seeing.’
His mother made a moue of distaste. ‘That is so like Leo. He’s such an emotional animal.’ She shook her head as if that were a very bad thing. ‘Don’t think for a minute that you will be able to talk him out of his current plan of action. He’s very set about abdicating. And so he should be, given the scandal.’
‘You only think that because of the past.’
‘I’ve forgotten the past,’ she said briskly. ‘As should you. The future is all that matters and our country needs you. You can’t distance yourself from us for ever, and you will make a great king. You’ve always been level-headed in a crisis.’