Chapter Summaries

Adam met a young MAX while visiting Monica’s diner, learned she dreamed of becoming a children’s book illustrator, and flirted with her until she gave him her phone number. MAX joined her coworkers in the kitchen, openly declaring that she was just as flirtatious as they were.

• Adam bumped into MAX outside the restroom and helped her pick up her art textbooks.
• MAX joked with Adam about her curves and explained that the diner paid waitresses more for fitting its theme.
• Adam sat back down, and Monica teased him for chasing after MAX.
• MAX took Adam’s order, exchanged innuendo with him, and gave him her name and phone number.
• MAX told her female coworkers she was a flirt like them.

Monica, Chandler, and Rachel watched Adam arrive for a date with MAX, then Adam and MAX went to his apartment, where he claimed to give her a medical examination. The chapter ended with MAX praising Adam and Adam comparing her with Heather.

• Monica told Chandler and Rachel that Adam had asked a waitress named MAX on a date, and the three speculated about his choice of girlfriends.
• Adam arrived with MAX, and Chandler and Rachel remarked on her appearance as the trio watched them from across the way.
• Adam noticed Monica, Chandler, and Rachel spying and shut the curtains in his apartment.
• At Adam’s apartment, MAX changed into a patient’s gown while Adam put on a white coat and said he would give her a full-body examination.
• Afterward, MAX praised Adam and said she would recommend him as a waiter, while Adam compared her with Heather.

Over two weeks of studying with MAX, Adam gently drew out her story and learned that she dreamed of illustrating children's books after graduating from Green Garden Community College. He encouraged her while considering how to help her pursue that dream without letting her become too dependent on him.

• Adam repeatedly studied with MAX and used their conversations to encourage her to talk about herself.
• Adam reflected that he did not want exclusive devotion and planned to remain a wanderer for many years.
• MAX told Adam she was studying art at Green Garden Community College and hoped to draw children's books after graduating.
• MAX explained that the Mechanical Doll stories had helped her through a difficult time, and Adam affirmed her dream.
• MAX joked suggestively, and Adam changed the subject by asking about her college and plans for further education.
• Adam considered how difficult it might be for MAX to find drawing work with only a community college diploma.

Adam encouraged MAX to pursue university and her dream of illustrating children's books, but she changed the subject and fell asleep after their night together. The next morning, Adam asked Monica to get MAX time off work, and Chandler and Monica teased him about their relationship.

• Adam encouraged MAX to consider university and asked whether she still wanted to illustrate children's books.
• MAX doubted her talent and chances of getting into university, then changed the subject by challenging Adam to continue.
• Two hours later, MAX was too exhausted to talk and fell asleep while Adam read.
• During the morning run, Adam told Monica to ask for leave for MAX because she would not make it to work.
• Chandler teased Monica about teaching Adam her Seven-Point Combination Method, and Adam joked that he had not yet had a chance to use it.

After MAX spent the night with Adam, she wrestled with her feelings for him while he gave her space over the following weeks. Later, Monica asked Adam to find her a date, and he met her admirer Peter Baker, whom he jokingly compared to Iron Man’s bodyguard Happy.

• MAX woke sore in Adam’s apartment and found a note saying he had called in sick for her.
• MAX reflected on her insecurity and her growing feelings for Adam, while Adam eased off their intimacy over the next few weeks.
• Monica asked Adam to help her find a handsome man to date and said she wanted to balance her hormones.
• Peter Baker asked Monica out, and Adam introduced himself as her friend and dating-life matchmaker.
• Adam compared Peter to Happy, Iron Man’s bodyguard, and convinced him that Happy was a winner in life.

Monica considered whether to cash Peter’s enormous tip, while Adam arranged for Rachel to help MAX prepare for Caroline Channing’s coming-of-age party. Rachel and Monica learned Adam was invited as Caroline’s favorite author, and Rachel begged to attend, but Adam refused because he already had a female companion.

• Monica and Adam discussed Peter’s $20,000 tip, and Monica decided she would cash it after work to spite him.
• Adam visited Rachel and asked her to take MAX shopping for clothes and teach her party etiquette.
• Rachel and Monica recognized Caroline Channing as the eldest daughter of the wealthy Channing family and questioned how Adam had received an invitation.
• Adam explained that Caroline was his fan and had invited him personally.
• Rachel begged Adam to take her to the party, but he refused, saying he already had a female companion.

Adam refused Rachel’s pleas to attend Caroline Channing’s coming-of-age party because he planned to take MAX and hoped the two women would meet. He offered Rachel a Chanel bag to secure her help, and Rachel agreed to persuade MAX to go.

• Adam reflected that Caroline and MAX might never meet unless he created an opportunity for them.
• Ross arrived and found Rachel clinging to Adam as she begged to attend Caroline’s party.
• Rachel asked Ross to help persuade Adam, but Adam insisted that MAX was his date.
• Adam offered Rachel a Chanel bag if she helped him get MAX ready for the party.
• Rachel accepted Adam’s credit card and agreed to help, while Ross felt guilty about encouraging her to cut up her credit cards years earlier.

Adam persuaded MAX to attend a billionaire’s coming-of-age party, and Rachel helped her choose a formal dress that broke the same night. Monica went on a date with Peter, a wealthy internet entrepreneur, and returned delighted after he flew them to Italy for pizza.

• MAX resisted attending the party, but Adam convinced her that Rachel would help her prepare and he would stay by her side.
• Monica accepted Peter’s invitation after learning he was a successful entrepreneur, and Peter tore up her twenty-thousand-dollar check.
• Rachel helped MAX select a formal dress, but it broke that night, so Adam arranged for the store to send replacements.
• Monica returned from her date smiling and said she and Peter had eaten pizza in Italy, where she had paid sixty cents for her serving.
• Adam suggested Peter had planned the trip to create a romantic atmosphere, prompting Monica to throw a cushion at him.

Adam’s remark about Peter’s thoughts enraged Monica, and he apologized by letting her hit him until she calmed down. Days later, Peter and Monica attended the Channing heiress’s coming-of-age party with Adam and MAX, while Rachel stayed behind, frustrated that she could not go.

• Monica chased Adam after his remark made her reinterpret her memories, and Adam eventually pretended to be hurt so she would stop hitting him.
• Rachel complained that she could not attend the Channing family party, while Monica teased her about her boyfriend’s status.
• Adam and MAX arrived dressed for the party, and MAX revealed that Adam had torn apart a dress and her jeans.
• Peter arrived and joined Monica, while Adam linked arms with MAX; the four left in Peter’s Lincoln for the Channing family home.

Adam and MAX attended Caroline Channing’s lavish eighteenth-birthday coming-of-age party, where guests praised Martin Channing’s investment fund. MAX suspected Martin was a con man, and after joking about becoming Caroline’s close sister, she told Adam that if Caroline agreed, she was fine with anything; Adam remembered her words.

• Adam, MAX, and Peter arrived at the Channing family villa for Caroline Channing’s coming-of-age party.
• Peter left with Monica to greet acquaintances while Adam and MAX sampled champagne and listened to guests praise Martin Channing’s investment returns.
• MAX said Martin sounded like a con man, and Adam silently praised her for sensing that something was wrong.
• MAX joked that she was a princess who might someday become Caroline’s close sister, and her laughter briefly drew Caroline’s attention.
• MAX told Adam that if she and Caroline became close sisters, she would be fine with anything as long as Caroline agreed, and Adam said he would remember her promise.

At the Channing family villa, Adam and MAX met Caroline, who joked with them while MAX traded barbs with her. Adam heard that Caroline would attend Wharton next year and reflected that he would not risk trying to profit from Martin Channing’s future financial scam by short-selling.

• Caroline arrived at the Channing family villa and received praise from the guests.
• Caroline compared herself to Audrey from Adam’s novel, and she and MAX exchanged sarcastic remarks about becoming good sisters.
• After Caroline left, MAX called her a bitch, and Adam joked that hardship might eventually bring them together.
• Adam and MAX listened to gossip that Caroline would graduate the following year and had a place reserved at Wharton.
• Adam considered the potential profits from short-selling Martin Channing but decided the risk of mistiming the collapse was too great.

Adam encouraged MAX to pursue her dream of illustrating children's books and offered to reserve her a job by collaborating with her on a book after she graduated. MAX questioned whether his offer was really friendship or an attempt to become her sugar daddy.

• MAX joked with Adam, then admitted she felt afraid whenever her life started improving because she expected something bad to happen.
• MAX explained that tuition costs and uncertain job prospects made her hesitant to attend a regular university.
• Adam promised tuition and employment would not be problems and offered her a future job illustrating a children's book he planned to write.
• MAX doubted Adam's explanation, pushed away his wandering hand, and asked if he was trying to be her sugar daddy.

MAX joked by asking Adam if he wanted to be her sugar daddy, then accepted his proposal to attend college and work with him afterward. Adam planned for MAX to create a children’s cartoon based on Peppa Pig, hoping to secure its copyright and give her a better future.

• MAX asked Adam if he wanted to be her sugar daddy, then laughed when his serious reaction showed he had taken the question literally.
• MAX teased Adam by calling candy her favorite thing and saying she had always wanted a dad, prompting him to slap her playfully.
• After an hour of negotiations, MAX agreed to attend college and help Adam after graduating.
• Adam planned to outline a Peppa Pig-like cartoon for MAX to draw and publish, securing its copyright before anyone else.
• Adam decided MAX’s loyalty, humor, and understanding of children made her the right person for the project, and he was willing to wait several years for her.

During their morning run, Monica admitted that she had asked Peter to take her home because she felt uncomfortable staying overnight with someone she did not love. Adam helped her recognize that she was still recovering from her past relationship and suggested Peter could be good for her for now, while privately seeing Chandler as her true match.

• Adam was surprised to find Monica joining him and Chandler for their morning run, and she explained that she had asked Peter to take her home after their date.
• Adam pressed Monica to explain why she had not wanted to stay the night, and she said she was not used to it because she did not love Peter.
• Monica repeatedly denied that she was becoming like Adam, then grew alarmed when she realized she might enjoy intimacy without love.
• Adam reassured Monica that she needed time to recover from her past relationship and said Peter could help her heal.
• Adam privately reflected on the signs of Monica and Chandler's closeness and considered them a perfect pair.

Monica broke up with Peter, and Rachel ended her relationship with Ross after his possessive behavior disrupted her work. When Chandler announced that he and Susie had also broken up, Adam immediately asked which of them had wanted it.

• Monica broke up with Peter during the week after Adam's words made her doubt herself.
• Rachel told Ross they needed to separate, and Ross angrily agreed to break up before storming out of MAX Diner.
• MAX asked what had happened, and Rachel explained that Ross's attempts to mark his territory had interfered with her new job.
• Adam reflected that both Rachel and Ross had contributed to their problems and chose not to intervene.
• Chandler announced that he and Susie had broken up, and Adam asked whether Chandler or Susie had wanted the breakup.

Adam grew increasingly busy as Ross and Rachel’s breakup split their friends into opposing sides and disrupted his life. He told Ross he was going to Boston for a promotional event for the fourth part of Lord of the Mysteries.

• Chandler said his breakup with Susie had been mutual and that he was genuinely fine.
• Rachel left to think alone, and Monica rushed after her, worried that Rachel might get closer to her male coworker.
• Monica arrived too late to prevent the coworker from answering Ross’s call, and Ross went dancing at a bar.
• Ross and Rachel reconciled briefly, but Ross’s confession that he had been with another woman led them to break up for good.
• Ross and Rachel competed for their friends’ company, and both began turning to Adam for comfort, disrupting his study life with MAX.
• Adam told Ross that he was going to Boston for a publisher’s signing event and promotion for the fourth part of Lord of the Mysteries.

Adam tried to avoid Ross by pretending he was leaving for Boston on Tuesday, then took MAX to a hotel while planning their real trip for the weekend. As they waited for Adam to return from Boston, MAX urged Monica and the others to confront Ross and Rachel and end their feud.

• Adam refused Ross's request to join his Boston trip, claiming the signing event and other work would keep him busy.
• Adam told MAX they would visit Juno and Karen in Boston, and MAX said he could take time off whenever he wanted.
• Adam pretended he was leaving on Tuesday to deter Ross, but stayed at a Four Seasons Hotel with MAX for several days.
• MAX called Monica and the others, urging them to confront Ross and Rachel and put an end to their prolonged feud.
• Adam relied on Monica and the others to handle Ross and Rachel while he was away in Boston.

Adam and MAX stayed with Juno and Karen in Boston, where Juno encouraged Adam to visit Heather at her ranch. Adam hesitated over what that would mean for his relationship with MAX, and Juno teased that he and MAX would not last long.

• Adam and MAX arrived at Juno and Karen's apartment and stayed in the guest room.
• Juno and Adam went for a walk and talked about Adam's relationships and their close friendship.
• Juno told Adam that she and Karen had visited Heather and that he could visit her with them.
• Adam agreed to go if Heather wanted him to, but worried that visiting her while with MAX would make him a scumbag.
• Juno teased Adam that he and MAX would not last long, and Adam could not find a convincing defense.

Adam and Juno discussed Amazing Amy and their plans in Boston, while two Harvard book clubs eagerly anticipated Adam Duncan’s signing event. The chapter left two female readers preparing to attend.

• Adam asked Juno about Heather, but Juno advised him that it was better not to know, and he accepted her judgment.
• Adam and Juno planned to visit Harvard and MIT and discussed the risk of encountering Amazing Amy at a writers’ party.
• Juno warned Adam about Amazing Amy’s history of framing an ex-boyfriend, and he said he would keep his distance.
• Members of a Harvard book club praised Adam and Lord of the Mysteries, while a quiet long-haired girl decided she would attend his signing.
• At another Harvard book club, a red-haired girl learned about the signing and smiled captivatingly after confirming it was the next day.

At Adam's Boston signing for Lord of the Mysteries, Emily befriended Amy while they waited overnight, only to discover Amy was letting her book club friends cut into the line. Emily ended up pushed far back in the queue, furious with Amy.

• Emily arrived at the signing venue overnight and lined up behind Amy, hoping to be among the first fans to meet Adam.
• Emily and Amy bonded over their shared interest in Chaucer and sewing quilts as they waited.
• Amy's book club friends arrived and began joining her in line, pushing Emily out of the top ten.
• Amy apologized but avoided Emily's gaze as more friends cut in, leaving Emily beyond twentieth place and angry.