Shh! The CEO Is Listening to My Thoughts
intro
Gisela (The FL)
Role: Junior Maid (assigned to the "South Wing" dust and polish detail).
Gisela has a "quietly striking" look that she tries to hide. She has soft, expressive features and long, chestnut-brown hair that she keeps strictly pinned up in a tight bun per the staff rules. She has warm, hazel eyes that often betray her—she might be bowing respectfully, but her eyes are usually dancing with amusement at Hendrik’s drama.
She wears the standard, high-quality Galesian-style maid uniform: a crisp, black long-sleeved dress with a starch-white apron. She wears flat shoes
Hendrik (The ML)
Role: CEO of Vossen Dynamics (Global leader in Aerospace & AI).
He is "intimidatingly polished." Hendrik stands at 6'3" with a cold, architectural build. He has sharp, angular features—a jawline that looks like it was carved from marble—and piercing silver-blue eyes that seem to see right through people
He exclusively wears bespoke, charcoal-grey suits with high collars. He is never seen with a hair out of place; his dark blonde hair is always slicked back.
he heard me
The heavy oak doors of Vossen Manor didn't just open; they groaned with the weight of centuries of German aristocracy. For Gisela, it was the sound of a trap snapping shut.
She stood in a line of twelve other maids, her hands trembling as she clutched a silver polishing cloth. Her first hour on the job had been a blur of high-speed cleaning and barked orders from the Head Housekeeper, Mrs. Hauer. Gisela felt like a stray cat accidentally let into a palace. Everything was too bright, too polished, and too expensive. The air smelled of beeswax, lemon oil, and the suffocating scent of "old money."
gisela(fl)
Don't trip. Don't speak. Don't breathe too loud, Gisela repeated to herself like a mantra.
Suddenly, the grand foyer shifted. The atmosphere didn’t just change; it pressurized. The senior staff snapped to attention, their spines straightening into steel rods.
....
The Master is here," Mrs. Hauer hissed
Hendrik entered like a cold front moving over the Alps. He was taller than Gisela had imagined from the tabloids, dressed in a bespoke charcoal-grey suit that fit his broad shoulders with lethal precision. He didn't look at anyone. He didn't have to.
The efficiency of the staff was terrifying. As Hendrik walked, he didn't stop. A valet caught his briefcase mid-stride. A junior butler peeled the heavy wool coat from his shoulders without Hendrik even slowing down. Gisela, desperate to show her worth, took a half-step forward to offer a tray of warm towels she had been told to hold, but a senior maid elbowed her aside with the grace of a professional assassin.
gisela(fl)
Gisela stumbled back, her heart hammering against her ribs. Great. First day and I’m already invisible. I’m basically a decorative lamp at this point, she thought bitterly.
Then, the clicking of heels announced a different kind of arrival.
Vivienne glided down the marble staircase. She was a vision of predatory elegance in her emerald silk dress, her platinum hair shimmering under the crystal chandeliers. She moved toward Hendrik with a smile that didn't reach her arctic-blue eyes.
vivienne
"Hi, baby! You look absolutely exhausted," Vivienne cooed, her voice like honey poured over glass. She held a delicate, fluted glass filled with a vibrant, cloudy yellow liquid. "I made your favorite Lemonde myself. A little family recipe to help you relax. Drink up for me?
Hendrik stopped. He looked at the glass, then at Vivienne. His face remained a mask of stone, but his hand reached out to take the drink.
Gisela was standing barely five feet away, her head bowed as instructed. But as Vivienne leaned in to press the glass into Hendrik's hand, a sound exploded in Gisela’s mind—a sound that wasn't a sound at all. It was a sharp, jagged intrusive thought that didn't belong to her.
vivienne
[Eat poison, my love. Once you’re paralyzed, I’ll finally have the keys to the vault. Die quietly so I can go shopping.]
gisela(fl)
Gisela froze. Her eyes flew wide, staring at the floor tiles. WTF?! her mind screamed. She actually poisoned it? Is she insane?
Gisela’s thoughts began to spiral out of control, racing at a hundred miles an hour.
gisela(fl)
Wait, if he drinks that, he’s dead. If he’s dead, the company goes into chaos. If the company goes into chaos, who is going to sign my first paycheck?! I haven't even been here long enough to get my uniform deposit back! My luck is absolute trash. I finally get a job at the richest house in Germany and my boss is about to drop dead because he’s dating a literal black widow. Don't drink the yellow death, you idiot!
Hendrik’s fingers had just closed around the stem of the glass. He was bringing it to his lips, his expression vacant, bored.
Suddenly, his hand jolted. A drop of the yellow liquid splashed onto his white shirt cuff. His head snapped up, his silver-blue eyes scanning the room with a ferocity that made the Head Butler flinch.
hendrik(ml)
Who said that?" Hendrik demanded. His voice was a low, dangerous growl that vibrated in the quiet hall.
The room went silent. You could hear a pin drop on the marble.
hendrik(ml)
Who just spoke?" Hendrik asked again, his gaze darting from the valets to the maids.
vivienne
Vivienne laughed, a high, tinkling sound that made Gisela’s skin crawl. She placed a manicured hand on Hendrik’s chest, her emerald-cut diamond flashing. "No one talked, darling. The house is silent, as always. You’re overworking; you’re starting to hear things. It's just the stress. Here, drink... it will make the 'voices' go away."
She pushed the glass closer to his mouth.
Hendrik didn't look at his fiancée. He didn't look at the drink. His eyes were fixed on the line of maids. He felt a strange, electric pull—a frequency he couldn't ignore.
gisela(fl)
Gisela felt his gaze landing on her. She kept her head down so low her chin was touching her collarbone, her mind a screaming mess of: Don't look at me, don't look at me, please don't die on my floor, I don't know how to clean up a crime scene!
Hendrik’s eyes narrowed. He looked at the small, trembling maid with the chestnut hair and the crooked apron. He looked at the glass of Lemonde.
The "voice" he had heard wasn't a voice. It was a scream from inside his own head, but it wasn't his own.
his pa
The silence in the grand foyer was thick enough to choke on. Hendrik stared at the swirling yellow liquid in the crystal glass, his hand hovering in mid-air. Vivienne’s smile was beginning to strain, her grip on his arm tightening like a vice.
vivienne
Darling, you’re scaring me," Vivienne whispered, her voice a sharp contrast to the murderous intent Hendrik had just heard echoing in his skull. "Just a sip. It’s for your health.
hendrik(ml)
Hendrik looked at the glass, then at the trembling maid in the corner—Gisela. He didn't know how, but he knew that voice had come from her. He wasn't a man who took risks with his life.
hendrik(ml)
I'm not feeling well, Vivienne," Hendrik said, his voice flat as he pushed the glass back toward her. "The smell is... off-putting. Take it away."
vivienne
Vivienne’s face flickered with a flash of pure, unadulterated rage before she smoothed it back into a mask of concern
vivienne
Oh, my poor love. It must be the stress of the wedding planning! Speaking of which," she transitioned seamlessly, her eyes lighting up with a greedy fire, "since we are getting married in the spring, I’ve finalized the list. I need twenty Rolls Royces for the procession, Hendrik. And I’ve found a designer in Paris who can make a dress encrusted with rare pink diamonds—it’s only twenty million dollars. A drop in the bucket for you, right?"
Gisela, still clutching her polishing cloth, couldn't help herself. She thought she was being subtle, but her face was twisting into a series of incredibly expressive, "weird" grimaces.
gisela(fl)
Twenty Rolls Royces? Gisela’s mind screamed. Is she planning a wedding or a car dealership opening? And a twenty-million-dollar dress? You could feed a whole village for a century with that! What a colossal, sparkly waste of money. Her head is emptier than a broken piggy bank
hendrik(ml)
Hendrik stood perfectly still. He was watching Gisela out of the corner of his eye. Every thought she had was vibrating in his brain as if she were shouting into a megaphone. To his astonishment, Vivienne spoke again, using almost the exact same words.
vivienne
After all," Vivienne sighed, "anything less would be a waste of our status."
hendrik(ml)
Hendrik’s heart hammered against his ribs. It was true. He was hearing the maid's thoughts before they even became reality. But his mind raced—if he could hear the maid, why couldn't he hear Vivienne’s love? All he heard from his fiancée was the "static" of greed and the dark, muffled thought of the poison.
hendrik(ml)
Why would she want to kill me? he wondered, a rare pang of hurt blooming in his chest. I gave her everything.
gisela(fl)
Gisela, meanwhile, was having a full-blown mental tantrum. She was staring at the back of Vivienne’s head, making a face that looked like she’d just sucked on a lemon.
gisela(fl)
Look at her standing there like a skinny green snake, Gisela thought, her mental voice dripping with sarcasm
gisela(fl)
Oh, I'm so beautiful, give me diamonds.' You've got the personality of a stale cracker, lady. If I were him, I’d trade you for a golden retriever. At least the dog wouldn't try to juice me to death.
A sudden, sharp sound broke the tension. Hendrik had let out a short, muffled huff of a laugh. It was gone in an instant, but Vivienne had seen it. Her head snapped toward the maid.
vivienne
Hendrik! Why is this... this creature making such faces?" Vivienne pointed a sharp, manicured nail at Gisela. "Look at her! She’s mocking me! She looks like she’s having a seizure. It’s disrespectful! It’s disgusting!"
Gisela snapped her face back into a "blank" expression, but it was too late. She dropped to her knees, her forehead nearly touching the marble.
gisela(fl)
I am so sorry, My Lady! I... I have a very expressive face! It’s a medical condition!" Gisela scrambled for an excuse, her voice trembling.
vivienne
She’s a disgrace to the Vossen name," Vivienne hissed, turning to Hendrik. "Fire her. Now. I won't have a peasant making faces at my wedding plans."
hendrik(ml)
Hendrik looked down at Gisela. He saw the way her small hands shook against the floor. He heard her frantic thoughts:
gisela(fl)
Please don't fire me, please don't fire me, I'll be homeless, I'll have to eat my shoes, his fiancée is a demon in a silk dress—
hendrik(ml)
You're right, Vivienne," Hendrik said, his voice cold and commanding. "Gisela, leave. You are relieved of your duties as a maid. You are fired."
Gisela froze. The fear in her heart suddenly curdled into a hot, dramatic spark of anger. She stood up, dusting off her apron with a sharp, defiant snap. If she was going down, she was going down with flair.
gisela(fl)
Fine!" Gisela said, her voice echoing in the hall, her German accent coming out thick and sharp. "I don't need this job!
She turned on her heel, her black skirt swishing as she marched toward the door.
hendrik(ml)
Stop," Hendrik commanded.
Gisela stopped, her hand on the heavy brass doorknob. She didn't turn around.
hendrik(ml)
I said you are relieved of your duties as a maid," Hendrik clarified, his voice much closer now. He walked toward her, ignoring Vivienne’s confused protests. "I didn't say you were leaving this estate. I need someone who... has a different perspective on things
hendrik(ml)
He leaned in, his shadow falling over Gisela. "You start as my Personal Assistant. Tomorrow morning, 9:00 AM, at my office in the city. And that isn't a request, Gisela. It’s an order. My PAs don't get 'fired'—they get contracts."
gisela(fl)
Gisela spun around, her jaw dropping. "Assistant? Me? I don't know anything about aerospace or AI! I know how to polish silver and avoid spiders!
hendrik(ml)
"I have enough people who know about AI," Hendrik said, a strange, knowing glint in his silver eyes. "I need someone who can see things others can't. Someone who knows when a drink is 'off-putting
gisela(fl)
Gisela stared at him, her mind a chaotic mess of: Is he crazy? Is he hitting on me? No, he's definitely crazy. Wait, the salary for a PA is ten times a maid's pay. I can buy so many pretzels. But I have to be near him? He's terrifying!
hendrik(ml)
Hendrik almost smiled again. He had heard every word. If she could read Vivienne's murderous thoughts, she could read his business rivals, too. She wasn't just a maid; she was the most powerful weapon he had ever found.
hendrik(ml)
9:00 AM," he repeated. "Don't be late. And Gisela? Wear something that doesn't involve an apron."
hendrik(ml)
He turned back to Vivienne, who was standing in the middle of the foyer, fuming. "Now, Vivienne, tell me more about these twenty cars. I want to hear exactly what you’re thinking.
Gisela stood by the door, her head spinning. She looked at Hendrik’s broad back and then at the furious "snake" in green.
Well, Gisela thought, a mischievous grin finally breaking onto her face. At least the office coffee won't be poisoned. Probably.
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