

Tom Benton for a spot at his lab at Harvard. In the meantime, Olive needs more lab space and has been talking to Dr. Olive also hears someone else refer to a woman Adam's been pining after for years and is surprised at how jealous she feels. When he overhears her talking about a crush, she pretends it's about someone else. Olive soon realizes that she has feelings for Adam, but she's afraid to tell him. Olive confides in him about her mother getting pancreatic cancer, which is why she's doing her research. Olive sees that Adam is demanding and blunt towards his students, but not unkind or mean. So, Adam he agrees to pretend to be in a relationship with Olive in order to give the impression he's putting down "roots" here, in hopes they will unfreeze the funds.Īs Olive and Adam fake-date, they get to know each other. Meanwhile, Adam's department chair is worried that he's planning on leaving for another university and has frozen some of his research funds. He's also known for being hypercritical and moody. Adam Carlson, a young, handsome and highly-respected tenured faculty member in her department. She kisses a guy randomly in order to trick her best friend into thinking she's dating someone (so that her best friend Anh won't feel bad about dating Olive's ex). student researching early detection methods for pancreatic cancer. She doesn't catch his name but remembers the conversation distinctly and wonders about the guy she met.

She tells him about her passion for her research. Three years prior, Olive Smith talks to a guy when she's in the bathroom fixing her contacts (and can't see) after her Ph.D.
