Page 12 of Tempt Me

“Where is Andrew?” Jamila glanced around the table for my other brother.

I bit my lip, unwilling to mention the sensitive topic. Mother pursed her lips, but she said, “I have a complicated relationship with the woman he’s dating. They grace us with their presence about once a month.”

“Mother’s working on it, though,” I said.

“Back to your financial partner,” Charles said. “Why didn’t you come to us?”

Jamila’s smile wavered. “I appreciate all you’ve done for me over the years, both of you.” She glanced at Mother at the other end of the table. “Winslow had a connection, and we used it. Besides, the AI is the real gem.”

Charles set down his fork. “Come on, now. No AI is going to be better than an experienced human adviser. What do you think, Jackson, Alicia?”

They didn’t hear. Valentine had knocked over her dad’s coffee, and there was a flurry of napkins at that end of the table while Mother consoled the wailing toddler.

Jamila shocked me by asking, “Natalie, what do you think? Are human financial advisers better than AI?”

It was a second or two before I realized my mouth was hanging open. I snapped it shut. “Me?”

“You said you were interested in programming,” Jamila said. “Surely you have opinions about artificial intelligence.”

“I…” I didn’t. Other than some halfhearted messing around with the latest chatbot app, I hadn’t given it any thought at all. But I had thoughts about public opinions. “What does your market research say? Are your customers willing to trust a machine to tell them what to do with their money?”

Charles chuckled. “Smart girl, our Natalie.”

I sat up straighter.

“Because of confidentiality concerns,” Jamila said, “we limited our market research. It was inconclusive. I’m sure it’ll follow the same model as our other apps.”

I grimaced. “You’re launching an app on limited market research and gut feeling? What if one of your customers loses a ton of money and blames it on your AI?”

“That could happen with human advisers, too. Besides”—Jamila waved a hand—“the beta’s gone great. Our user satisfaction scores are high.”

“There’s a big difference between friendly beta users and the general public,” I said. “Does your marketing team have the messaging down? Do they have a task team ready to go if there’s a negative response?”

Jamila shook her head. “Don’t worry about it, Nat. It’s under control.”

I pursed my lips. Was it? Jamila’s attitude was wrong. All it would take was another flare of her temper to turn her launch into a major disaster.

“Natalie, dear,” Mother said from her now-calm end of the table, “aren’t you going to try the bacon? Telma made it with the maple coating you like.”

I stared at the platter of bacon in front of me. It smelled delicious, but I remembered Larry waving his antennae, pleading with me not to drop him into that pot. His face wasn’t even cute, but he had a face, and feelings too. And that bacon had once had feelings.

“No, thanks.” I passed the platter to my nephew, Noah.

He snatched two pieces. “Are you a vegetarian now? My friend Lakshmi doesn’t eat bacon, either.”

“I think I am.”

“No bacon? Is vegetarianism your new thing, Nutter Butter?” Jackson asked.

“If programming doesn’t work out,” Jamila said, “you could work for PETA.”

I gave my brother and Jamila a wide-eyed shake of my head. I’d lucked out all weekend. Charles and Mother had been at some cocktail party Friday evening when I’d dragged myself home from Silicon Valley. Saturday, Mother had gone to an all-day function, and Charles had played golf and spent time in the garden with his prized roses. I’d kept to myself in my room reading everything I could find online about crisis communications. So I hadn’t told them yet about culinary school.

“Don’t be ridiculous, you two,” Mother said. “Cooking is Natalie’s passion. She’s even taking a class about meat this term. What’s it called?”

“Butchery,” Charles said.

“Yes.” Mother shuddered. “I don’t think I could do it.”

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