Dr. Maya Chen would rather talk to her orchids than people—especially her professional rival, the brilliant and infuriatingly charming Elena Vasquez. But when their department head, Professor Richard Holloway, threatens to cut both their research funding unless they collaborate, the two botanists devise an unexpected survival strategy: fake a romantic relationship to secure the grant that will save their careers. What begins as a strategic performance—holding hands at faculty mixers, sharing ‘dates’ in the greenhouse, and inventing stories of their whirlwind romance—soon blurs into something terrifyingly real. As anonymous complaints sabotage Maya’s reputation and Holloway’s scrutiny intensifies, the line between pretense and passion withers away.
Dr. Maya Chen would rather talk to her orchids than people—especially her professional rival, the brilliant and infuriatingly charming Elena Vasquez. But when their department head, Professor Richard Holloway, threatens to cut both their research funding unless they collaborate, the two botanists...