Her eyebrows shot up. ‘Are you kidding?’ she said softly.
‘What do you want to know? Ask me anything.’ Whether he’d choose to answer was another matter entirely.
Laura tilted her head on his chest. ‘OK,’ she said slowly. ‘Seeing as you’re such a novice at this sort of thing, we’ll start with my original question. How did you become king?’
Matt relaxed. That was an easy enough question to answer. ‘Six months ago a Sassanian delegate showed up at my office and offered me the job.’
‘Just like that?’
‘Pretty much.’ It hadn’t been quite that simple. At first he’d almost summoned security to remove what he’d thought was a madman. But after the delegate had persuaded him to listen, Matt had wasted no time in accepting. His business was well established and so successful that it practically ran itself and, to be honest, he’d been getting a bit restless. The visit from the Sassanian delegate couldn’t have come along at a better time.
‘Did you know you were heir to the throne?’
‘Of course, but my family had been in exile so long we’d more or less forgotten about it.’
‘So what happened?’
‘They had a coup.’
‘Nasty.’
Matt twined his fingers through hers and felt her shiver. ‘Actually, not too bad as coups go. It was bloodless. I think the country had come to the end of the road and everyone knew it. It had been in steady decline for years. It was socially, financially and morally bankrupt. Corruption was rife. It still is. Public services are virtually non-existent.’
‘And it’s down to you to sort it out?’
‘Sorting out problems is what I do.’
‘Handy.’ A smile curved her lips and Matt’s stomach tightened.
‘Not really,’ he said. ‘I was told I was the main reason why they voted to restore the monarchy.’
Her eyes widened. ‘That sounds pretty drastic. Couldn’t they have just employed you as a consultant or something instead?’
‘They wouldn’t have been able to afford me. This way they get me for free.’
‘So cynical.’
‘I prefer realistic.’ At the look of affront in her eyes on his behalf, something inside him thawed. ‘But if it makes you feel better,’ he said, faintly bewildered by the feeling, ‘I believe they thought a figurehead would unite the country and restore confidence.’
‘So no pressure, then.’
‘Fortunately I thrive under pressure.’
‘What’s the plan?’
‘I cut out the dead wood and restructure the finances.’
‘Sounds simple.’
Matt thought of all the problems he’d already encountered in the short time he’d been here. ‘It isn’t.’
‘How’s it going?’
‘Slowly.’
‘How does it feel?’
‘