Absenteeism

“Unionize?” Ashley laughed, spinning her chair to look out at the New York City skyline.

“Y-yes, Ms. Kindal.” The poor intern slid a file across her desk with the report he’d spent all night researching and writing. “It’s a movement. All over TikTok, Instagram, Facebook. It’s the first thing that comes up when you Google the company. Delivery drivers are saying that they deserve some of the delivery fees instead of just relying on tips and—“

Ashley silenced him with a wave of her hand. “I don’t care what delivery drivers are saying. They’re contractors, not employees. If they don’t like the deal they’re getting, they can just delete the app and go work someplace else.” She spun back around, typing her problem out into ChatGPT.

She nodded, reading its suggestion, then echoed it to the intern. “Have Moderation identify the accounts of whoever’s posting pro-union material and terminate their accounts. I’ll have a public statement ready in a few minutes.” She ordered, beginning to type into ChatGPT for it to write a public statement for her.

The intern left, leaving Ashley alone in her office. The AI began writing, but not in response to her query it seemed.

Ashley groaned. She hated when the AI hallucinated. It was such an annoyance. Wasting tokens on nonsense. She regenerated its response, only to find the same text retype itself.

Ashley growled, closing her browser and turning off her computer. She wasn’t going to waste time and tokens on that hallucination. She’d reset her computer, come back after lunch, and generate a response then.

She grabbed her phone and opened the 2U Delivery App, placing an order for a taco bowl from a restaurant directly across the street. She wasn’t going to tip. She was the reason the delivery person even had a job. She’d done enough for—she glanced at the driver’s name—Talia, already.

After mindlessly scrolling through GLP-1 Forums she’d been sent, she decided to order some. Everyone in finance was doing them and it didn’t seem like there were any downsides and she’d ask ChatGPT what they actually did once it wasn’t having issues.

The door to her office slowly opened and an unfamiliar face in a 2U Delivery hat stepped in carrying an insulated bag. “Oh, no.” Ashley shook her head. “You leave that with my secretary.” She hated dealing with the delivery staff. They always tried talking to her about the company. As if they were colleagues.

The delivery girl pointed to her phone and responded with an even voice. “Delivery instructions say bring directly to you.” She let herself further into The office.

Ashley knew that was a lie. “Just set it on my desk then. And you can leave. I’m very busy.”

Talia nodded, pulling the taco bowl from the insulated bag. “I’m sure. I mean two jobs is hard to manage.” The girl agreed. “One in New York, the other in Seattle.”

Ashley froze, finally actually looking at the woman. She wasn’t like most delivery people on her app. She looked self-assured, healthy. “Who are you?” Ashley pressed the button under her desk for security. Was this woman from the so-called union?

Rain began smacking into the window behind Ashley, despite the day having been sunny. “I’m your boss.” Talia said.

In an instant, Ashley was suddenly sitting in the chair opposite of her desk, Talia, now suddenly dressed in a suit and tie, sitting in Ashley’s expensive leather rolling chair. Panic overtook Ashley. What just happened? Was that the Space Needle outside! Yet, she couldn’t seem to move. A tear rolled down her cheek as Talia began typing something into the computer.

“Now, see, I’m afraid I have to terminate your contract in our main office, however, Seattle’s a bit of a company town, so no matter where you go, you work for us. But I’ll have you set up as our own personal delivery girl.”

Talia typed for a few more moments before turning the monitor around to display ChatGPT.