Page 290 - The Love Hypothesis

“Yeah.” She nodded again. The question, the one she’d come here to

ask, was starting to take shape in her mind. “Knowing all of this. Knowing
how important Tom is to Adam, if you had proof of . . . of how Tom really
is, would you show Adam?”

To his credit, Holden didn’t ask what the proof was, or proof of what.
He scanned Olive’s face with an intent, thoughtful expression, and when he

spoke, his words were careful.
“I can’t answer that for you. I don’t think I should.” He drummed his

fingers on the podium, as if deep in thought. “But I do want to tell you three
things. The first you probably already know: Adam is first and foremost a

scientist. So am I, and so are you. And good science only happens when we
draw conclusions based on all available evidence—not just the ones that are
easy, or that confirm our hypotheses. Wouldn’t you agree?”

Olive nodded, and he continued.
“The second is something you may or may not be aware of, because it

has to do with politics and academia, which are not easy to fully grasp until
you find yourself sitting through five-hour-long faculty meetings every

other week. But here’s the deal: the collaboration between Adam and Tom
benefits Tom more than it does Adam. Which is why Adam is the main

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