Maybe Seymour could ask Ian to betray Perry in some way regarding the mayor election. Just to cover an Ian who is not in a relationship with Lena.I imagine it might be to convince Lena to work for Seymour (if she rejected the offer), then to accept her "working relationship" and ultimately move out of the way of Lena/Seymour.
Although maybe Seymour's ambition is to groom both Ian and Lena into his successors together. Given he's looking for someone to pass his publishing empire to, and am not sure if he's thinking of having child(ren) of his own for that. It'd take a while, if he even has a penis.![]()
Looking to Seymour's relationship with Axel, it looks more like a subservient relationship than a relationship between equals or a master/apprentice one. Taking into account his way of looking at things and his huge ego, I don't know if Seymour can see people like Lena, Ian or Axel as anything other than tools to carry out his will. To me, if he's truly thinking on a succesor to his legacy, it would make more sense for him to want a child of his own blood and genes (with maybe Lena as the mother, or more like the vessel).