Olive, a third-year Ph.D. student, tries to focus on teaching prep and her underfunded pancreatic-cancer project. An email from Harvard’s Tom Benton confirms he’ll be at Stanford soon and open to talking, giving Olive hope for lab resources. In the break room, Anh confronts Olive about seeing her kiss Adam. Adam arrives, places a steadying hand on Olive’s back, and plays along, defusing Anh. Olive thanks him, and they agree she’ll call him “Adam” around Anh.

The next morning, Anh grills Olive, who claims it was just a date and nudges Anh to consider Jeremy. Olive is buoyed by Benton’s follow-up email but notices Jeremy and others staring. At a TA meeting and in lab, the sudden attention grows. Malcolm corners Olive and reveals the rumor: everyone thinks she’s dating Adam.

Olive goes to Adam’s lab. In private, she panics that the story has spread across the department. They debate damage control; Adam points out that claiming a breakup won’t erase what people already believe. He suggests letting the rumor stand, at least until Anh and Jeremy are settled.

When Olive asks why he’d do this, Adam jokes about a wife and twins, then admits he’s single and reveals his real issue: the department sees him as a “flight risk” and has frozen a portion of his research funds. Being in a relationship would improve the optics and help unfreeze money he needs for ongoing projects.

They discuss logistics and boundaries. Olive worries about faculty–student optics, but Adam notes he has no authority over her. They joke about what dating entails and avoid more kissing. In the end, Olive thanks Adam for the offer and asks for time to think, leaving the fake-dating plan under consideration.