The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood
investigator of the grant they were awarded. Tom is . . . well,replaceable. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a very good scientist,but most of his fame is due to him having been our formeradviser’s best and brightest. He inherited a lab that was analready well-oiled machine and kept it going. Adam createdhis own research line from the ground up, and . . . I think hetends to forget how good he is. Which is probably for the best,because he’s already pretty insufferable.” He huffed. “Can youimagine if he had a big ego, too?”Olive laughed at that, and the sound came out oddly wet.When she raised her hands to her cheeks, she was notsurprised to find them glistening. Apparently, weeping silentlywas her new baseline state.“The last thing,” Holden continued, unbothered by thewaterworks, “is something you probably do not know.” Hepaused. “Adam has been recruited by a lot of institutions in thepast. A lot. He’s been offered money, prestigious positions,unlimited access to facilities and equipment. That includesHarvard—this year was not their first attempt at bringing himin. But it’s the first time he’s agreed to interview. And he onlyagreed after you decided to go work in Tom’s lab.” He gaveher a gentle smile, and then looked away, beginning to collecthis things and slide them inside his backpack. “Make of thatwhat you will, Olive.”
Chapter TwentyHYPOTHESIS: People who cross me will come to regret it.She had to lie.Again.It was becoming a bit of a habit, and while she spun anelaborate tale for the secretary of Harvard’s biologydepartment, one in which she was a grad student of Dr.Carlsen’s who needed to track him down immediately to relaya crucial message in person, she swore to herself that thiswould be the last time. It was too stressful. Too difficult. Notworth the strain on her cardiovascular and psychophysicalhealth.Plus, she sucked at it. The department secretary didn’t looklike she believed a word of what Olive said, but she must havedecided that there was no harm in telling her where thebiology faculty had taken Adam out for dinner—according toYelp, a fancy restaurant that was less than a ten-minute Uberride away. Olive looked down at her ripped jeans and lilacConverse and wondered if they’d let her in. Then shewondered if Adam would be mad. Then she wondered if shewas making a mistake and screwing up her own life, Adam’slife, her Uber driver’s life. She was very tempted to change herdestination to the conference hotel when the car pulled up tothe curb, and the driver—Sarah Helen, according to the app—turned around with a smile. “Here we are.”“Thank you.” Olive started getting out of the passengerseat and found that she couldn’t move her legs.
- Page 293 and 294: orgasm, and the taut stretch of it,
- Page 295 and 296: “Inside you?”“If you—”Ada
- Page 298 and 299: Oh. Maybe, now that they had sex—
- Page 300 and 301: “What?” She gasped and freed he
- Page 302 and 303: finally belonging that seemed to ge
- Page 304 and 305: Slowly, precisely, she wrapped her
- Page 306 and 307: “The book you’re reading. With
- Page 308 and 309: “Who needs to know how to say ‘
- Page 310 and 311: He rolled his tongue inside his che
- Page 312 and 313: “Okay.” She leaned forward and
- Page 315 and 316: who hugged her and started talking
- Page 317 and 318: “He was shameless, Ol. And glorio
- Page 320 and 321: It was an even fancier hotel, and O
- Page 322 and 323: about Malcolm’s elbows. Holden ha
- Page 324 and 325: A beat. Adam studied her, patient a
- Page 326 and 327: “Right,” he said. “Right.”
- Page 328 and 329: “It was good, wasn’t it?” Oli
- Page 330 and 331: Tom Fucking Benton take credit for
- Page 333 and 334: “Fine,” Anh huffed. “Malcolm,
- Page 335 and 336: recording of Tom Benton saying shit
- Page 337 and 338: only one bed in this hotel room was
- Page 339 and 340: “I haven’t.”“Yes, Ol, you h
- Page 341 and 342: Right. What about Tom, precisely? O
- Page 343: Holden sighed. “This is why Adam
- Page 347 and 348: In a lie.A lie, after a lot of lies
- Page 349 and 350: Olive closed her eyes and nodded, t
- Page 351 and 352: Cherie’s truck, and she almost la
- Page 353: Wearing expired contact lenses will
- Page 356 and 357: “Good,” he replied with a half
- Page 359 and 360: “Uh . . .” Adam’s frown deepe
- Page 361 and 362: “It will be horrific—”A throa
- Page 363 and 364: seventeen databases and built machi
- Page 365 and 366: When given a choice between A (tell
- Page 367 and 368: else to do it?’ I think my cookie
- Page 369 and 370: You can fall in love: someone will
- Page 371 and 372: faint yellow lights. “And I’d b
- Page 373 and 374: “No,” she repeated, pensive.
- Page 375 and 376: “I think that somewhere along the
- Page 378 and 379: He rolled his eyes. “What’s you
- Page 380 and 381: Author’s NoteI write stories set
- Page 382 and 383: AcknowledgmentsFirst, just allow me
- Page 384 and 385: Don’t missLove on the Braincoming
- Page 386: shrooms they just purchased from a
investigator of the grant they were awarded. Tom is . . . well,
replaceable. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a very good scientist,
but most of his fame is due to him having been our former
adviser’s best and brightest. He inherited a lab that was an
already well-oiled machine and kept it going. Adam created
his own research line from the ground up, and . . . I think he
tends to forget how good he is. Which is probably for the best,
because he’s already pretty insufferable.” He huffed. “Can you
imagine if he had a big ego, too?”
Olive laughed at that, and the sound came out oddly wet.
When she raised her hands to her cheeks, she was not
surprised to find them glistening. Apparently, weeping silently
was her new baseline state.
“The last thing,” Holden continued, unbothered by the
waterworks, “is something you probably do not know.” He
paused. “Adam has been recruited by a lot of institutions in the
past. A lot. He’s been offered money, prestigious positions,
unlimited access to facilities and equipment. That includes
Harvard—this year was not their first attempt at bringing him
in. But it’s the first time he’s agreed to interview. And he only
agreed after you decided to go work in Tom’s lab.” He gave
her a gentle smile, and then looked away, beginning to collect
his things and slide them inside his backpack. “Make of that
what you will, Olive.”
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