This isn't about my second raise, is it? Just kidding.The Proposal · 2009 — Chapter 2 of 14 · 4'01" · B2
Margaret Announces a Fake Engagement, Explained: turn operations over to
Margaret's visa application has been denied and she faces deportation. "I'm from Canada, for Christ's sake," she protests, but the board won't budge. To keep her job, she gambles everything on a single sentence: that she and her assistant are getting married.
What happens
At a Colden Books meeting, Margaret Tate is told that her visa has been denied and that she is being deported. Her job will go to the man she just fired. With a call from Oprah's office waiting, she pulls her assistant Andrew aside and tells the executives they are getting married.
Listen for
turn operations over tofor Christ's sakeon holdI beg of you
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Now
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Phrase of the scene
turn operations over to
hand control of operations to someone else
玛格丽特签证被拒、即将被驱逐，老板杰克当众宣布：在这事解决前，要把公司运营交给刚被她解雇的鲍勃·斯波尔丁，等于当面架空她。
After the merger, the founder turned day-to-day operations over to a new CEO.
Also in this scene
- for Christ's sake
an exclamation of impatience, frustration or disbelief
- on hold
kept waiting on the phone; also put aside for now
- I beg of you
a formal, earnest plea
Everything marked in this scene
20 notes across 77 lines
time clause
Margaret, do you remember when we agreed that you wouldn't go to the Frankfurt Book Fair?Margaret, your visa application has been denied.weak form
Margaret, your visa application has been denied.And you are being deported.an exclamation of impatience, frustration or disbelief
I'm from Canada, for Christ's sake.I'm from Canada, for Christ's sake.We can reapply, but unfortunately you have to leave the country for at least a year.hand control of operations to someone else
Until this is resolved, I'm going to turn operations over to Bob Spaulding.You cannot be serious. I beg of you, Margaret. We are desperate to have you stay.You cannot be serious. I beg of you, Margaret. We are desperate to have you stay.unreal conditional
If there was any way, any way at all, that we could make this work, we'd be doing it.Uh, we're, uh, we're getting married.flap
Uh, we're, uh, we're getting married.relative clause
who weren't meant to fall in love, but we did.Yeah. Tried to fight it, and... Can't, can't fight a...Can't fight a love like ours, so, uh...liaison
Can't fight a love like ours, so, uh...Just make it legal. Mmm.we need to get ourselves to the immigration office. So we can work this whole mess out. Right?Margaret Announces a Fake Engagement, explained
What's really going on
On the surface this is a deportation meeting; underneath, it is Margaret buying time. She has spent years being the most feared editor in the building, and the moment the board says "your visa application has been denied," she understands that charm won't save her — only a fact will. So she manufactures one. "We're getting married" is not a confession; it's a legal maneuver dressed as romance, and the nervous laughter around the table tells you nobody believes it. Andrew, meanwhile, is furniture in his own engagement: he barely speaks while she promises a love that "weren't meant to fall in love, but we did." The scene's cruelty is that she never asks him first. She simply decides, then sells it, because that is what she has always done.
Theme
DeceptionMargaret invents a love story to survive, and the whole room can tell it is a performance.
PowerA visa, not her talent, decides who runs the company; she answers by bending the rules.
What you'll learn
- Discuss visa denial and deportation in natural English.
- Use There’s gotta be to ask for a solution.
- Use work something out for solving a problem.
- Hear how a fake romance is improvised under pressure.
Listen for
- has been — weak form
- getting — flap
- like ours — liaison
I m from Canada for Christ s sakeA protest, not a legal argument: she insists she hardly counts as an immigrant because she is Canadian.
who weren t meant to fall in love but we didMargaret's improvised romance line — two people who supposedly fell for each other against all odds.
We can reapply but unfortunately you have to leave the country for at least a yearThe official rule: reapplying means leaving the U.S. for a full year, which is exactly why the fake marriage matters.
I think there s something that you should knowHer opening move before the announcement — a nervous heads-up that a bombshell is coming.
Questions about this scene
Why does Margaret announce that she and Andrew are engaged?
To avoid deportation. If she leaves the country she loses her job, so she invents a marriage that will let her stay and keep working.
Does Andrew agree to the fake marriage?
Not really — he is pulled into it on the spot, with no warning. He says almost nothing while Margaret tells the story, and his "No" and awkward nods are the only protest he gets.
Is Margaret actually from Canada?
Yes. She protests that she is not a typical immigrant, saying "I'm from Canada, for Christ's sake," but U.S. immigration rules don't care where she is from.
Why is Bob Spaulding given Margaret's job?
He is the only person in the building with enough experience, and Margaret can't legally work for an American company once she is deported.
What does "for Christ's sake" mean here?
It is an exasperated exclamation, close to "come on" or "seriously" — Margaret uses it to show how absurd the situation feels, not as a real curse.
The Proposal · 14 chapters
All chapters →
Up next · Chapter 3out of your hairMargaret Fakes a Marriage Interview
Chapter 1let someone goMargaret Fires Bob
Watching · Chapter 2turn operations over toMargaret Announces a Fake Engagement
Chapter 3out of your hairMargaret Fakes a Marriage Interview
Chapter 4with cherries on topAndrew Makes Margaret Propose
Chapter 5a meal ticketMargaret Meets the Paxton Family
Chapter 6pulling your legAndrew Brings Margaret Home to Sitka
Chapter 7from the ground upAndrew Turns Down the Family Business
Chapter 8called it offMargaret Meets Andrew's Ex
Chapter 9take this the wrong wayMargaret and Andrew Trade Secrets
Chapter 10a shamThe Paxtons Plan a Barn Wedding
Chapter 11burst into tearsAnnie Gives Margaret the Heirloom Dress
Chapter 12off the hookThe Sham Marriage Exposed
Chapter 13get my head on straightMargaret Confesses at the Wedding
Chapter 14dawned on meAndrew Proposes to MargaretChapter 2 of 14 · about 59 min to go