The Teams Become Real Estate Tycoons!Tammy Fired!February 19, 2004
When Heidi and Omarosa returned from the boardroom, the group showered Heidi with congratulations and big hugs. Omarosa didn't get so much as a handshake. Then, emotions boiled to the surface as Heidi and Omarosa got into it again. Heidi was angry that Omarosa had told Mr. Trump that she thought Heidi was unprofessional and had no class. Omarosa defended her actions.
The teams then met Donald at a luxury building that he was renovating in order to resell as individual units - with the top penthouse going for 35 million dollars. Because Protégé was down by two team members, they were allowed to draft one person from Versacorp. They picked Amy, who didn't seem thrilled at the prospect. Nick was also sorry to see her go, saying that she's a great girl.
For the next project, the teams would do something in real estate too, but on a slightly smaller scale. Both teams would see the same two apartments. They would negotiate with each other and each end up with one of the properties. Then, they would each renovate and rent their apartment. The team that rented their apartment at the greatest percent increase over starting market value would win. For this task, Donald's associates, Bernie and Carolyn, would observe.
Versacorp chose Katrina to be Project Manager because of her extensive real estate experience. This made Troy, Project Manager for Protégé, nervous. Both Katrina and Troy toured the two properties. Although the first property had a higher assessed value, both Project Managers had their sights set on the second apartment because they thought it had more potential. When it came time to negotiate, Troy wouldn't divulge which apartment he wanted first; however, he overheard Katrina telling her team that the second apartment had more potential. When Katrina suggested they each write down which place they wanted on paper in order to reveal their choices simultaneously, Troy decided to "get her goat" and wrote: "I want exactly what you want." This infuriated Katrina. She realized he had overheard her earlier conversation and thought he was being sleazy. She called Troy "the most dishonest person" she'd ever met. Because the two couldn't agree on how to negotiate for the properties, they ended up simply flipping a coin. Troy won and chose the apartment that they both wanted. Katrina became even more enraged.
With only 72 hours to renovate, Versacorp set aggressive goals: new paint, new appliances and new kitchen cabinets. Tammy made the hard work even harder as she constantly butted heads with her other team members. Katrina came through for Versacorp by landing a professional contractor for just $1,500 to redo both the kitchen and bathroom. There was also tension during Protégé's renovation effort. The group was frustrated with Omarosa, who would call meetings and pull everyone away from what they were doing just so that she could tell them all what they should be doing. Omarosa, who earlier was hit on the head with a small piece of plaster, also complained of headaches that she said were aggravated by construction noise at the suite. As a result, she didn't do as much physical work as the others. However, she was able to play basketball with some kids in front of the apartment. To make matters even more complicated at Protégé, Heidi learned that her mother had cancer, which made her question whether she'd stay in New York. Finally, both teams finished up their renovations and were satisfied with their properties. Now, all they had to do was rent them.
Versacorp had a small but critical business problem: no customers. They just couldn't get people to look at the apartment even though everyone (except Bill, who stayed at the apartment) was out trying to drum up traffic. But it wasn't working. The strain started to show as normally cordial Bill snapped at Ereka. The team had only three hours left to find a renter, approve his or her credit and sign a lease. Bill admitted that he was about to enter "panic mode." But then, with less than two hours remaining, a potential renter appeared. As Project Manager, Katrina decided to let Bill handle the rental negotiations. The woman didn't seem like she could budge much on her price, but Bill was able to finagle an additional fifty dollars a month from her. On the other end of town, Protégé showed their apartment to many people, but had no takers. With literally just minutes left, Protégé still hadn't rented their property. Defeated, the group agreed that it was over. But just before they started to clear out, a woman walked in off the street. She just happened to need a place as soon as possible. She signed the lease and Protégé got a reprieve.
Both teams were confident going into the boardroom. Troy thought that they had negotiated a good rental price. Katrina felt even stronger and said the only way that Troy could have possibly outdone her would have been through "pure luck." Bernie and Carolyn laid out the numbers. Versacorp, led by Katrina, managed to get a rent 10% above market value. Protégé, led by Troy, managed a 27% increase. Clearly, Protégé was the winner. But Katrina jumped in, saying that the numbers didn't tell the whole story. She said that Troy was unethical in his negotiations with her. But Donald thought that Katrina was just duped. The rest of Versacorp backed up Katrina - except Tammy, who had no problem declaring in front of everyone that her Project Manager was indeed duped. Katrina silently fumed. Donald told Katrina that he would see her and two of her teammates back in the boardroom to face a firing. As everyone was leaving, Donald asked to speak to Heidi for a moment. Donald asked Heidi about her mother and wanted to know if Heidi needed to leave. Heidi said that, with the support of her family, she had decided to stay. But she really appreciated Donald's concern.
As a reward for their win, Protégé got to spend the day having a picnic at the palatial 55,000 square foot Trump home in Bedford. The team was awed by the house and had a relaxing time eating and drinking. Amy raised a glass to toast the first of many victories with her new team. Back at the suite, Katrina lost it with Tammy. She couldn't believe that Tammy said she was duped by Troy in front of Mr. Trump. For her part, Tammy claimed not to get what the big deal was. Bill was clearly nervous and tried unsuccessfully to get Katrina to reveal who she was going to bring into the boardroom with her.
Versacorp was back in the boardroom to face Donald and his associates. Carolyn wanted to know why Katrina, an expert in real estate, didn't negotiate the rent. Katrina said that she had concentrated on the renovation and delegated the negotiations to Bill. Donald said that the team did an excellent job with the renovation, but a bad job with the negotiation. Donald was also surprised at Tammy's comment in which she said that her team had been duped. He didn't understand why Tammy would publicly attack her own team. Once Katrina, Tammy and Bill left the boardroom, Donald looked to his associates for advice. Carolyn said that she was troubled by Tammy, who contributed nothing to the task. Bernie was bothered by Katrina's attack on Bill's negotiating ability when she brought him only one potential customer. The three Versacorp team members were called back in. Donald said that Katrina was in charge of both renovation and negotiations but that she seemed only to concentrate on the former. Donald then told Bill that he should have gotten more money for the apartment. But, Donald thought that Tammy's disloyalty was so egregious that he had no choice. Tammy was fired!
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Next On The Apprentice~ Teams compete in the water business, distributing Trump Ice. Find out who sinks and who swims.
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