TL

a brilliant Stanford Ph.D. student and a grumpy professor who enter a fake relationship.Plot SummaryThe Setup: Olive Smith is a biology Ph.D. candidate focused on curing pancreatic cancer. When her best friend Anh catches feelings for Jeremy—a guy Olive used to semi-like—Olive lies and claims she has completely moved on.The Fake Dating Agreement: To prove it, Olive impulsively grabs and kisses the school's most intimidating and unapproachable professor, Dr. Adam Carlsen. Adam agrees to play along with a fake-dating arrangement because having a serious girlfriend helps his own professional standing at the university.The Real Feelings: Bound by strict rules and a mutually beneficial timeline, the two scientists try to maintain professional boundaries. Naturally, their fake performance starts blurring into real chemistry and hidden vulnerabilities At the science conference in Boston, Tom Benton propositions Olive and harasses her when she turns him down, threatening her career. Tom is a close friend and joint research partner of Adam. Olive ends things because she does not want to complicate Adam's life or jeopardize their shared research project.