Theo Arlen | Virelux HQ – Executive Office, Year 2 of Cassian's CEO tenure
7 Years Ago
Theo Arlen arrived at the executive wing five minutes early. Not because he needed to prove anything, but because he needed the stillness.
He'd grown up in rooms full of powerful men. The kind who laughed with their teeth hidden and made mergers over wine. His father ran two portfolios. His mother sat on three boards. Their expectations had been clear since he was ten:
CEO material.
Oxford. Finance track. Leadership programs. Legacy-ready. Theo had all of it.
Except the desire.
Somewhere between being praised and being watched, Theo discovered he didn't want the top chair. He didn't want the pressure of dominance.
What he wanted, what he'd never been able to say out loud. Was to be the hand that steadied someone else. The one who knew every moving piece. The first door. The last defense.
The assistant.
That truth had surprised everyone.
But not him.
---
On his first day as Cassian Dorne's executive assistant, Theo wore navy. Conservative. Intentional. The elevator whispered open on the 47th floor, and for the first time, he stepped into orbit with the man who ran Virelux like a silent storm.
Cassian didn't look up when he entered.
"Sit."
Theo sat.
No welcome speech. No small talk. Just the man at his desk. Already immersed in a file, posture sharp, presence sharper.
"There are four things I care about," Cassian said, turning a page. "Timing. Accuracy. Discretion. And whether you can keep up. Miss one, and I won't explain myself twice."
Theo nodded.
Cassian pushed a file toward him.
"Your first assignment."
---
Task:
Recover a corrupted quarterly report draft. Reformat into an executive brief within two hours. Original analyst resigned. Data incomplete. CFO expects a summary by 3 p.m.
Cassian didn't elaborate. He returned to his screen, leaving Theo with 84 pages of chaos and a quiet clock ticking behind his ribs.
No instruction.
No hand-holding.
But not coldness either, just the expectation of competence.
Theo got to work.
By 2:47 p.m., the brief was on Cassian's desk. Structured. Clean. Precise.
Cassian didn't look at it immediately.
Instead: "How long before you caught the misaligned EBITDA baseline?"
Theo didn't hesitate. "Six minutes."
Cassian nodded. "Good."
Then, quieter. "Most people hesitate. You didn't."
Theo replied evenly. "You don't strike me as someone who values hesitation."
A flicker behind Cassian's eyes. Not approval. Recognition.
---
That night, Theo stayed late. Not from pressure, but curiosity. He wanted to see the machine when it exhaled. The building dimmed. The other executives left. Cassian didn't.
At 9:04 p.m., the CEO finally walked out.
At 9:15, Theo's internal line lit up. No label.
He picked up. "Laurent."
Cassian's voice: "Come to 46C. Side corridor. Bring a pen."
Click.
---
Room 46C wasn't on the main directory. Private. Soundproofed. No cameras.
Cassian stood by the window, arms folded. A folder on the table.
"I'm revisiting the Omega security protocol," he said.
Theo waited.
Cassian's voice was low, controlled. "Badge restrictions. Surveillance tags. Emergency override. It was built for 'safety' fifteen years ago. But it's become a leash. I want to dismantle it."
Theo raised a brow slightly. "That'll cause friction."
"I know," Cassian said. "Which is why I'm not doing it blind."
He pushed the folder across the table.
Inside: 25 names. Current Omega employees. Most in mid-level or junior positions. Departments. Designation disclosures. Room access data. Nothing Cassian should have personally tracked.
"I want to know what they're experiencing. Not their output, their conditions. If they're being restricted. Dismissed. If anyone's watching them unofficially. Or if we've created something that punishes people just for existing."
Theo absorbed the list.
This wasn't an obsession.
It was control… questioning itself.
"And if they're not safe?" Theo asked quietly.
Cassian's expression didn't change. "Then the leash stays."
Theo nodded. "Discreet reporting. You only."
Cassian nodded once. "Let me know what I've been blind to."
---
As Theo locked the folder in a drawer that only he had the code to, he understood the gravity of what he'd been entrusted with.
Not just access.
Not just tasks.
But the proof of a man trying to do something dangerous in silence.
Let go of power. Even a little.
In a system designed to grip tighter.
Theo Laurent had never wanted to be in the spotlight