Author Topic: Nick And Amy Fired..Only Two Remain..  (Read 3754 times)

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Offline puddin

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Nick And Amy Fired..Only Two Remain..
« on: April 09, 2004, 06:20:51 PM »
April 8, 2004

Kwame returned from the boardroom, where Troy had been fired, to handshakes and a hug. Kwame said, “Everything I do from now on is dedicated to Troy.” In an interview, Kwame said it was tough to see Troy get fired. He said that even though they've only known each other for a short time, they have a real friendship.

The next day, Bill, Nick, Kwame and Amy – the final four – met Donald at Trump World Tower. In a private suite, Donald introduced them to four more of his high-level employees and trusted advisors: Norma Foerderer (VP Media Relations & Human Resources), Alan Wiselberg (Chief Financial Officer), Charlie Reese (Head of Acquisitions), and Tom Downing (General Manager of Trump International Hotel and Tower). Donald said that Bill, Nick, Kwame and Amy would be interviewed by these trusted advisors and that their recommendations would be vital to the candidates' success. The interviews were grueling and packed with tough questions. Kwame had to defend his low energy level. Nick was pressed to say what he could bring to the company besides charisma. Amy had to admit that she didn't know much about Trump's main business: construction. And Bill was challenged on his education. All of the candidates went home, unsure of their futures. Amy admitted that, for the first time, she didn't know if she would make the cut.

In the boardroom, Donald met with his advisors, who had interviewed the final four. On Bill, Norma said he was her top choice. Charlie agreed. On Kwame, Tom thought he was likeable but Charlie still worried about his energy. On Nick, Charlie said he liked him, but that he was not an intellect. Alan thought that Nick could sell a product, but didn't offer more than that. And Tom weighed in to say that he just couldn't see Nick running one of Trump's companies. On Amy, Norma said that she would eventually get on her nerves. Tom said that she irritated the hell out of him. And Charlie said “she was like a Stepford wife” and that he was “bored talking to her.” Trump was surprised at the assessments of Amy, but he said that he trusted everyone in the boardroom. Trump thanked them all for their service and asked the candidates to come in.

Bill, Nick, Kwame and Amy entered the boardroom. Donald asked what everyone thought of Nick. Kwame said that Nick was good but not the best leader. Bill said that Nick was a good salesman, but needed more experience. Donald asked Amy who he should fire and she said Nick. Donald was shocked and said, “That's the end of that marriage.” He then told Amy, “You're cold. You're a cold-hearted person.” Nick fought back, saying that Trump is Trump because of his charisma and his effect on people and that Nick shares those qualities. But Donald said it takes more than charisma to lead a company. Donald commented that his advisors and all of Nick's peers said that Nick was a salesman, but not a leader – and fired Nick. Nick thanked Donald and everyone for the opportunity and left. Next, Trump turned to Amy. He said that up until today, Amy had been a superstar, but that his advisors had negative comments about her. Donald admitted that Amy had done the best over the course of the twelve weeks, but his people didn't respect Amy. Because of that, it would be hard to bring her into the fold. And with that, Donald fired Amy. She hugged Bill and Kwame and left the boardroom. So, it was down to the final two: Bill and Kwame. The two guys got a night off, but they would come back the next day for their biggest tasks yet.

Bill and Kwame went to the roof, took in the view and drank champagne. They toasted “opportunity.” In an interview, Bill said that he was proud of the way he had played the game. He said that he was true to himself the whole way through. In his own interview, Kwame said that his grandfather could only sign his name with an “X” and his mother was the first in his family to finish college. And now, Kwame had an MBA from Harvard and might have the opportunity to work for Donald Trump. Kwame thought that he was truly living the American Dream. On the rooftop, Kwame told Bill, “May the best man win.” Bill replied, “I think we already have.”
The following day in the boardroom, Bill and Kwame met with Donald, who laid out the next tasks. Each candidate would be in charge of a huge event and oversee all the details to make it a success. Bill would run the Chrysler Trump Golf Tournament at Trump National Golf Club. Kwame would be in charge of the Jessica Simpson concert at Trump Taj Mahal Hotel and Casino. Based on their performances, one of them would become The Apprentice. Donald had another surprise. He said that now that Bill and Kwame were bosses, they needed some employees. Trump said that he had a group for the bosses to choose from. The boardroom doors opened and in walked six of the recently fired candidates. Bill picked Amy, Katrina and Nick for his group. Kwame picked Troy, Omarosa and Heidi for his. Then, everyone headed off to the location of their respective events. As bosses, Bill and Kwame were each driven by private limo while their employees followed in more modest vehicles.

On the road to Atlantic City, Kwame assigned tasks to his employees. Troy was in charge of promotions. Omarosa was in charge of logistics. And Heidi would be in charge of the meet and greet. Kwame said that his management style was to lay out the tasks and let his employees do their jobs. He said that he didn't believe in micromanaging. At the Taj Mahal, Kwame got some advice from Mark Brown, the CEO of the hotel and casino. Mark said that a successful event is one where the entertainer is taken care of from the minute they arrive at the airport until the minute they leave. That night, as Kwame's group was having dinner, Omarosa got a call from Diane, the Entertainment Coordinator of the Taj Mahal. Diane told Omarosa to make sure that Jessica Simpson arrives when she's supposed to. Omarosa said she was in the middle of dinner and asked if Diane could take care of this. In an interview, Diane predicted that things would not go smoothly for this concert. Back at the table, Troy asked Omarosa what the call was about, but Omarosa wouldn't say.

At Trump National Golf Club, Bill assigned tasks. Nick would work with Chrysler to place cars and signs. Katrina would handle preparing and distributing gift baskets to tournament players. And Amy would be a liaison with Trump.
The next day, Kwame's group was having a meeting when Diane called. Omarosa answered and Diane told her that the driver went to pick up Jessica Simpson's band at the airport, but they weren't there. Kwame got on the phone and Diane told him that she tried to get in touch with Omarosa so that Omarosa could confirm the travel information to avoid an issue like this one. Omarosa jumped back on the phone and said that she was confused by this misunderstanding. Diane told Omarosa that she needed to track down the correct travel information and arrange for Jessica Simpson's band to be picked up. Kwame pressed Omarosa for what happened. He asked Omarosa if the call she had received the night before at dinner was about this issue. Omarosa said no. She said that Diane hadn't called her at dinner – when in fact, Diane had! Omarosa claimed that Diane's office had simply called with a message from Diane, but that Diane had already left for the day – again not true! Kwame called back and apologized to Diane for the problem. But in an interview, Kwame had harsher words. He said that when he assigns someone a task, he expects them to follow through. He also said that he would normally fire someone who he thought was not competent, but that he just didn't have that luxury right now.

Bill had an issue to deal with himself. His group had not gotten permission to store all of the items for the many gift baskets they were to create and distribute, so they ended up having to store boxes and boxes of items in Lesley Rey's office, who was the Director of Sales and Events at Trump National Golf Club. Bill admitted that he might be inconveniencing her, but he said that he had a job to do and didn't care right now.

Back at the Taj Mahal, Kwame's group sat down to dinner with Jessica Simpson's father, Joe Simpson, who is also her manager. Omarosa went back to the office to make some arrangements and got a call from Diane, who said that Jessica Simpson was missing. The driver was at the airport as instructed, but Jessica was not. Omarosa called Kwame, who played it cool in front of Jessica's father. Later, Troy and Kwame went to the office. Omarosa said that the ultimate success of the project rested with Kwame, “It's not us any more, it's you, baby.” In an interview, Kwame said that in the real world, he would never hire Omarosa because it was her job to be in charge of the flights. In her own interview, Omarosa put the responsibility squarely on Kwame and said, “Kwame was not hands-on and it turned out to be a huge, huge disaster.” Kwame didn't want to leave Jessica's father for too long and went back to him, leaving Omarosa and Troy to find Jessica. Omarosa made calls while Troy used a walkie-talkie. Omarosa confirmed that the driver was still at the airport, but there was no Jessica. Omarosa asked, “How do you lose a rock star?” To be continued… next week.