Chapter 2

A little after six, with the sky already getting dark, I stood beside the planter outside our office building and lit a cigarette.

The flame flared and went out, flared and went out, and only caught on the third try.

My fingers were shaking a little, and however hard I pushed it down, the anger kept coming back up.

Three months.

Three months waiting tables at my dad's lodge to earn that cost-price deal.

And an intern had knocked it down with one answer from Cookie.

My boss believed the thing too.

I pulled out my phone.

My lock screen was still a photo of the sunset over Cloudrest Lodge, one I'd taken years ago and never deleted.

Then I made a call.

"Dad."

"Ry? What's wrong?"

"That company retreat I told you about. They changed the person in charge. If somebody calls about it, just quote the regular rate."

"You worked for me all that time and they swapped you out?"

"Yeah."

"They think it's too expensive?" His voice went up.

"The new intern says Cookie told her $150 a person is plenty."

"Cookie?" Dad sounded genuinely baffled. "Isn't that a thing you eat? Since when does one cookie run a hundred and fifty dollars?"

"Dad."

I cut him off.

"Don't worry about it. If anyone calls, give them the normal rate."

Dad went quiet for a long moment.

I could hear a lid being lifted off a pot somewhere in his kitchen.

"All right," he finally said. "Regular rate."

Then, after a pause, he added, "I want to see how that kid plans to haggle with me using a snack."

I hung up and stayed outside a little longer.

The next morning, Chloe made a much bigger production of it than I'd expected.

She leaned back in her chair, opened Cookie, and started using voice mode loud enough for half the office to hear.

"Cookie, find me country lodges outside the city that can host a weekend company retreat for 120 people."

The AI voice answered from her phone.

"Here are several options: Cloudrest Lodge, $380 per person. Willow Valley, $360 per person. Greenhouse Retreat, $390 per person..."

Chloe's mouth tightened.

"Why are they all so expensive?"

She asked about several more venues.

Everything came back above $350.

She tossed her phone onto the desk and leaned back, staring at the ceiling.

For about two minutes, she sat in silence.

Then she picked up her phone again.

This time she didn't open Cookie.

She opened a lifestyle forum and started scrolling.

Her finger suddenly stopped.

Her eyes lit up.

Wendy passed behind her desk, glanced at the screen, and came back to me.

"She found a post saying you can use Cookie to book country lodges for half price."

My pen stopped moving.

Chloe had already closed the post and reopened Cookie.

"Cookie," she said, sounding like she'd discovered buried treasure, "someone online said you can book places directly at a discount. Is that true?"

Cookie replied, "The platform can assist users with price negotiation. Historical transaction records for Cloudrest Lodge include rates around $150 per person. Would you like me to submit a booking request?"

Chloe didn't hesitate.

"Submit it."

She tapped her screen several times, then placed the phone facedown and relaxed into her chair with a long breath.

"Done."

The smug little smile on her face said it for her. I knew Cookie could do it.