All Chapters of They Trusted AI Over Me: Chapter 1 - Chapter 9

9 Chapters

Chapter 1

At 2:11 Tuesday afternoon, a message popped up in the company-wide group chat.It was from Chloe Lane, an intern who had been here less than two weeks.Chloe had one defining trait.She worshipped Cookie.On her first day, she'd actually announced from her desk, "Cookie is my best friend."I was sitting at my desk working through the schedule for next month's annual staff retreat when my phone buzzed several times in a row.I opened the chat.Chloe: "@Ryan Parker, I was looking at the retreat budget. Two hundred dollars per person? For a country lodge where we're basically eating lunch and picking fruit? Isn't that kind of expensive?"I stared at the message without moving.Eight seconds later, another one appeared.Chloe: "I asked Cookie about Cloudrest Lodge. It says they can do $150 per person."There were 120 people in that group.And she'd just put Cookie up against me in front of all of them.I didn't know whether to laugh or put my head down on the desk.The chat e

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 per

Chapter 3

At two that afternoon, Chloe began her victory lap.She posted directly in the company-wide group.Chloe: "Everyone, I looked into it. Cloudrest Lodge's public rate is $380 per person, but Cookie says it can book it for us directly at $150. That's more than half off."Leo from Sales replied immediately."Half? That's saving more than two hundred dollars per person. With over a hundred of us, that's enough money for another team event."Mia from reception wrote, "Cookie can do that? We should use it to book everything from now on."Wendy leaned toward me."That girl hasn't made a single phone call, and she's announcing it in the group like the contract is signed."I rubbed my forehead and said nothing.My phone buzzed.It was a private message from Claire Bennett, our finance director."Ryan, did you keep the comparison records from when you sourced Cloudrest?"I wrote back one word."Yes.""Send them to me."I pulled up the vendor comparison file I'd made three months ea

Chapter 4

The morning of the retreat, three charter buses were parked outside the office at 7:30.Chloe stood beside the first one in a brand-new trench coat, phone raised in one hand, riding high."Everybody on! Navigation's set. We'll be there in an hour and a half!"More than a hundred employees filed aboard.Wendy sat beside me."You still aren't going to tell Greg? What if—"I looked out the window."Wendy, do you think someone who books a venue through an AI remembers to call the venue and confirm?"She went quiet.So did I.The buses drove for ninety minutes.Once we entered the mountains, the roads narrowed and the trees thickened.Chloe sat in the front row with her navigation screen up the whole way."Almost there. Almost there."At 9:10, we pulled up at the gates of Cloudrest Lodge.I looked out the window.The gate was open.The parking lot was empty.No other buses, no banner, nobody out front waving anyone in.One look and you could tell they weren't expecting a

Chapter 5

Greg stood beside the buses with a face like thunder.He scanned the crowd, his eyes moving over the coworkers who had already started muttering, and then he turned sharply toward me."Ryan."I stepped down slowly from the last bus.Greg hurried over and lowered his voice."You negotiated with this lodge before, right? Can you talk to them? See if they'll let us in today? We can work out the price."I looked at his face.Three days earlier, when he'd written, "Chloe takes the lead, Ryan supports her," his expression had been nothing like this.I didn't answer.I walked toward the front desk.Frank saw me and paused.His mouth moved, as though he was about to call me something else.I gave him the slightest shake of my head, and he swallowed it."Frank," I said, "do you have room for us today?"He looked at me, then past me at Greg and the hundred-plus employees behind him.He sighed."We do. The date was left open, so we never sold it."Greg's eyes lit up."Perfect. T

Chapter 6

The retreat finally started.Huge cast-iron pans of chicken came out first.The second the lids lifted, the smell burst out and filled the whole courtyard.The lamb was carved fresh, crisp on the outside and tender enough inside that the juice ran.For a while, nobody said anything.Everyone just ate.Slowly, the mood came back.People poured drinks.Some wandered into the orchard.Others gathered around the firepit taking photos for social media.I carried my plate to a table in the corner of the courtyard and ate a couple of bites.A server came over with a big bowl of soup and set it down.She looked up at me and blinked."Wait. Aren't you Ryan?"My fork stopped."You worked here a couple of years back, didn't you?" She looked me over. "What happened, you quit? Got yourself an office job in the city?"Before I could answer, the next table had already heard her.Wendy froze with her fork halfway to her mouth.Leo from Sales turned toward me, then toward the server.

Chapter 7

At four in the afternoon, the buses were getting ready to head back.Coworkers drifted out of the courtyard in twos and threes.I stood beside one of the buses, helping Wendy get her bag into the luggage compartment.Someone called my name behind me."Ryan."Dad.I turned around.He came walking from the lodge entrance in a faded dark jacket, an unlit cigarette between his fingers.Half the company stopped dead where they stood.Dad reached me and looked me up and down."You eat and run? Not even going to come say a word to me?"I didn't answer.He turned toward Greg, then glanced over the employees hauling bags toward the buses.Greg blinked, then stepped closer. "I'm sorry, you are...?""I own this place," Dad said. "Hank Parker."Greg's expression changed.Dad didn't give him time to process it."Ryan worked here for months. Waited tables. Carried plates out of the kitchen. Swept the courtyard. Whatever needed doing, he did it."He paused and looked at me."Then h

Chapter 8

When I got to the office Monday morning, the atmosphere on the floor was different.The people who were usually loudest were quiet.A few coworkers looked at me when they thought I wouldn't notice, and the second I looked back, their eyes jumped away.Wendy had already put a coffee on my desk."Did you see the group chat?" she asked, leaning in."No.""Chloe posted this huge apology yesterday. More than eight hundred words."I said nothing and opened my computer."Greg had Admin delete it," Wendy went on. "Said if there was anything to discuss, handle it privately instead of letting the group chew on it."I opened my email.There was a meeting invite from Greg.Ten a.m. Small conference room.At exactly ten, I pushed open the door.Greg was already inside, two glasses of water on the table.He looked five years older than he had the week before.Dark circles under his eyes, and a wrinkled shirt collar."Sit."I sat down and didn't say anything.He didn't rush into it

Chapter 9

At two that afternoon, a message appeared in the company-wide group.It was from Denise Hall, our HR director.Denise: "After internal review, the company has decided to end Chloe Lane's internship effective immediately. We appreciate her contributions and wish her the best."The group went silent.Nobody said anything.Wendy leaned over and glanced at my screen, then lowered her voice. "Is Denise doing that for you?"I didn't answer.Down the aisle, Chloe came toward me carrying a cardboard box.When she reached my desk, she stopped."Ryan."I didn't look up."I'm sorry."Her voice was barely there, like she had to push it out of her throat."I didn't mean for any of it. I really thought Cookie had booked it. I didn't know the lodge was your family's."I looked up at her."Chloe.""Yeah?""Your biggest mistake wasn't using Cookie."She lifted her head. Her eyes were red."Your biggest mistake was that you'd rather believe a robot in your phone than pick up the phone

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