A short forward contract that was negotiated some time ago will expire in three months and

has a delivery price of $$40.$ The current forward price for the three$-$month forward contract is

$$42.$ The three$-$month risk$-$free interest rate is $8\%$ per annum continuously compounded.

a$)$ Find the spot price of the asset underlying the forward contract today.

b$)$ Find the value of the short forward contract today.