Plot summary

LUCY Kelson (Sandra Bullock) is protesting the demolition of a 75 year old building that she says is a landmark. Lucy is arguing with a construction worker who is telling her to move so the crew can proceed with the demolition. Lucy, along with her two friends Meryl and Tom, lay down in the street hoping to prevent the demolition. While laying there, Tom proposes to Meryl who says yes. The police show up and arrest all three.Lucy and her friends are bailed out by Lucy's parents, Larry (Robert Klein) and Ruth Kelson (Dana Ivey). Lucy thanks her parents but is dismayed when she finds out the building was still demolished after they were arrested. Her parents tell her that is what the Wade corporation does, and the company even has plans to build condos near their house and knock down the local community center.Lucy goes home to the apartment she shares with her parents. She orders an insane amount of Chinese food considering it's only for one person as she is a big stress eater and reads a magazine article about George Wade and the Wade Corporation while eating.GEORGE Wade (Hugh Grant) is receiving a Man of the Year award due to millions donated to a hospital by the Wade corporation. George gives and acceptance speech and an interview with the press. George mingles with various people at the event when he is approached by his driver Tony who tells George that George's brother wants to see him tonight. George arrives at his brother's house where he exchanges pleasantries with his sister-in-law and the housekeeper before going to see his brother in the gym.HOWARD Wade (David Haig) tells George about deals the company lost because of the incompetence of the legal counsel George has hired. Apparently, this latest attorney hired by George is just another in a line of attractive women with law degrees from mediocre schools. Howard tells George to hire someone from Harvard, Yale, etc.The next day Lucy is approaching the Wade building. George is walking out talking to an attractive female attorney he just interviewed. After the two part ways, Lucy approaches and introduces herself to George as he is walking to his car. Lucy mentions she is an attorney which prompts George to ask her if she has ever heard of Saint-Tropez Law School, presumably the law school attended by George's recent interview. Lucy says no. George asks Lucy where she attended law school, and Lucy tells him Harvard. This intrigues George who asks for her background. Lucy tells him about the legal aid organizations for which she has worked. George comments that working for those organizations can't pay much, and Lucy tells him she isn't very interested in money. George laughs but then recognizes her name as being the attorney who protests his company as well as other similar companies. George realizes Lucy isn't there for a job. Lucy tells George she is there representing the Coney Island Community Center. Lucy tells George about all the activities the community center has and how important it is to the neighborhood. George tells her that another company has the inside track for the contract. Lucy tells him her parents know a local politician involved in the process who will guarantee the contract to Wade if Wade agrees to keep the community center. NORMAN from Wade runs out to speak with George telling him about an appointment coming up very soon as well as needing a quote for an article. George starts making up a quote prompting Lucy to piggyback off what he is saying to promote the community center. George uses her words to finish the quote. George has Lucy get into his limousine with him since he is running late for an appointment. George offers Lucy a deal. If Lucy accepts the job as Wade's chief counsel, George will promise to keep the community center as well as allow her to direct all of Wade's charitable endeavors. Lucy says she is unsure, and George tells her to think about it.Lucy walks along the boardwalk outside the community center while thinking about the offer. Lucy eats at a restaurant with her parents. Her mother tells he she can't work for Wade, but Lucy points out how it's the only way to save the community center as well as the other resources she will have to do good.Lucy takes the job. Two weeks later, Lucy stops to talk to George about a Wade project. George asks Lucy her opinion about which of two envelopes he should use for his new personal stationary. Since the two look identical, Lucy licks both and picks the better tasting one. George says he has already asked 30 people, and Lucy was the only person to come up with that answer. George is impressed and says he is going to get Lucy a bigger office.Six months later, George has Lucy with him helping him pick out a mattress. Four months later, Lucy is sleeping when her phone rings. George is calling from the bar at 2:15 am. Lucy is annoyed and tells George to put whatever girl he is talking to at the bar on the phone. Lucy tells the girl a bunch of things to get her to leave George and go home. Lucy then tells George he should be getting sleep since they have a meeting about his divorce in the morning.The next morning, Lucy is sitting in a conference room with George's soon to be ex-wife LAUREN and her attorney, BUZZ, while waiting for George, who is late. George finally shows up. Buzz says he wants to discuss the terms of the settlement. Lucy tells him the terms have already been set since there is a pre-nuptial agreement. Buzz says that George's infidelity in the marriage can warrant change to the terms. Lucy tells Buzz that Lauren cheated as well during the marriage with the company accountant. Lucy says they will not agree to pay any additional alimony, but George cuts her off saying they will pay it as long as she signs a form releasing him from any further commitments. Lauren lashes out calling Lucy a bimbo and throws water on her.Lucy and George walk back to the Wade office. Lucy is annoyed with George for agreeing to pay the additional alimony. George tells Lucy Lauren would have kept fighting for it, and George wanted it to be done and over with. While walking past what appears to be a needy person holding a coffee cup, Lucy throws change in the coffee cup not realizing the cup is actually filled with coffee and not for donations. The needy man flips out on Lucy. George pulls her away and says he needs her help on something important. The important thing is George shopping for clothes. Lucy is annoyed with George for having her help out with non-legal mundane tasks and leaves the store leaving George behind.Two months later, Lucy is the Maid of Honor in Meryl and Tom's wedding. During the ceremony, Lucy's cell phone rings. On her phone is a message from George that says, "EMERGENCY Come ASAP **GEORGE**." Much to Meryl's shock, Lucy runs out of the church and hails a taxi to the hotel George lives in. Lucy tries to call George on the way to find out what's wrong, but George doesn't answer. Lucy enters George's penthouse, and George yells for her to come into his closet. George's emergency is that he's judging the Miss New York contest in an hour and doesn't know what to wear. Lucy is horrified to discover George called her out of a wedding to pick out a suit. George didn't know she was in a wedding and seems surprised she left the wedding. Lucy points out that George said it was an emergency and reminds him she has previously informed him as to what constitutes an emergency. While picking out George's outfit for him, Lucy reminds George this current situation doesn't count as an emergency as well as previous situations George similarly summoned her including calling in the middle of the night or interrupting her "lady doctor" visit for similarly non-emergency reasons. Lucy is fed up and tells George she is quitting and to consider this her two weeks notice. George seems distraught and starts lashing out calling Lucy ungrateful and pointing out she left her cell phone on because she craves excitement and emergencies. George points out that before Lucy came into his life, he was capable of making all kinds of decisions, but now he needs her opinion on everything. Lucy leaves in disgust.Lucy tells her boyfriend Ansel on the phone about quitting, but the conversation is cut short as Ansel is shipping out on some new Green Peace mission. Lucy goes on three job interviews. All three interviewers tell Lucy they can't hire her because George doesn't want them to. Lucy goes into George's office who is currently getting massaged by two masseuses. Lucy yells at George about him calling other places preventing her from getting another job, George points out that Lucy has a contract that says she will work for Wade until at least the completion of the Island Towers project, which is the initial project Lucy got Wade in order to save the community center. The contact, which was drafted by Lucy, says that George can stop her from working anywhere else until the project is completed. Lucy's parents review the contract but can't find any loopholes in it allowing Lucy to break or void the contract. Lucy's dad offhandedly mentions there is nothing Lucy can do short of going in and deliberately trying to get fired. This catches Lucy's attention who appears to have an idea.Lucy goes to work the next day deliberately trying to get fired. Lucy shows up late to a meeting with George and Howard while chewing gum. Lucy rudely bumps into Howard, insults Howard's children in a picture, spits out her gum on the floor which is then stepped on by Howard, and pretends to be clueless when asked for her opinion for ideas. George takes Lucy out of the meeting telling her he knows what she is trying to do, and it is not going to work. Having now stopped outside the Men's bathroom, Lucy grabs George and takes him in the bathroom to talk. Lucy explains the negative impact George has on her life. George tries to promise to be better, but Lucy says he won't be and George agrees. George agrees to let her leave after she finds a replacement. Lucy thanks George and hugs him. Her earring falls out on the ground. Lucy bends down to pick it up, but while standing back up, her hair gets caught in George's belt. While George and Lucy are trying to get Lucy's hair uncaught, Howard walks in to see Lucy squatting down in front of George appearing as if she is pleasuring him.Lucy and George do a photo shoot to promote the project at the site of the Island Towers project. Lucy walks over to say hi to her parents Larry and Ruth who have come to say hi since the site is right by their house. George comes over and says hi. They all go back to Larry and Ruth's apartment for cake. Lucy and George go up to the roof and talk while eating cake. Lucy talks about the difficulties of her mother having such high expectations whereas George contrasts it saying it's better than people having no expectations of you.Lucy and George conduct the first interview for Lucy's replacement. George congratulates the interviewee, who is a heavier woman, on being pregnant, but she is not pregnant. Lucy and George go to lunch after the interview. George suggests Lucy conducts the interviews without him moving forward. While Lucy is listing some names of possible candidates including men, George tells her it has to be a woman because it will annoy Howard. Their closeness is obvious as they get the same salad and immediately start picking off things they know the other person doesn't like but they do.George walks into Lucy's office to ask him about his outfit for a tennis charity event later that evening. Lucy is obviously upset and angrily stapling papers telling George she just had a fight and broke up with Ansel. George cancels his plans to attend the charity event and takes Lucy out on his yacht to cheer her up. Lucy gets drunk and starts talking about how she always drives men away. George theorizes that it's because Lucy doesn't really like the men she's dated. Lucy says that doesn't make sense because they have all the same political views and ideologies. Lucy says George may be right, but she's never been very passionate about anyone. Lucy passes out. George carries Lucy into her apartment which is in the same hotel that George owns and lives in.Lucy is hung over the next morning drinking coffee outside when George approaches her. She apologizes for the previous night and checks with him to make sure they didn't have sex or anything which George reassures her they didn't.Lucy is in the break room at work drinking coffee when Norman comes in scaring her causing her to spill coffee on her shirt. Norman says an attorney from Harvard is there to see Lucy. Lucy looks at her resume remembering it noting that she didn't have a strong background in property law which is presumably why Lucy had not set up an interview with her. Norman says she is down from Boston and only wants five minutes, and Lucy agrees to meet with her. Norman brings her to Lucy's office. JUNE Carver (Alicia Witt) introduces herself to Lucy. June flatters Lucy telling her she is a legend at Harvard Law School as previous editor of the Law Review and mentions articles