The Apprentice, Episode 7: Duped!

In the boardroom, Carolyn asks why Katrina didn’t take charge of negotiating the rental price, since she works in real estate. Katrina says that they thought it would be more effective to have just one person showing the apartment. Bernie asks why she picked Bill. Katrina says that she was in charge of renovations, so she delegated the negotiations to Bill. Bill says that there weren’t enough qualified prospects for him to negotiate with, but Katrina says he could have done better with those they had. He then asks her why she didn’t step in and take over.

Trump turns his attention to Tammy, asking her why she went against the team and said that they were duped. Tammy says that she thought her team’s accusations were unfair to Troy’s credibility. She thinks Troy was smart, not dishonest. Tammy is totally trying to save her butt with that answer. If she thought her team was being unfair to Troy, she would have said, “That’s unfair to Troy. He’s not unethical,” not, “We were duped.” Katrina, Nick, and Ereka agree that Tammy was disloyal to the team by disagreeing with them. Ereka adds, “and I’m not surprised.”

It’s time to get down to business. Katrina chooses Tammy and Bill to join her in the boardroom. They file out so that Trump and the viceroys can discuss them. Carolyn says that she was not impressed by Katrina in this challenge, but that Tammy presents problems of her own. Bernie says he was bothered by Katrina’s attacking Bill. Trump sends the three back in.

Trump says that there is a lot of bad blood in the team, much of it caused by Troy. Katrina says that Tammy’s disloyalty was not the only reason she selected her for the boardroom. She constantly had to baby-sit Tammy because she hassled the workers and brought the team down with her negativity. As a result, Katrina says she couldn’t focus as much on her other responsibilities. Tammy says that Katrina is just looking to deflect the blame. Katrina offers to show Trump her business plan to prove her worth. Trump tells her it’s too late for that. Katrina should have handled both the renovations and the negotiations, and, barring that, Bill should have negotiated a higher rent. Tammy, on the other hand, is disloyal and “so obnoxious.” She’s fired.

As Tammy takes the elevator to the street, Trump says that Tammy was talented, but disloyal. Bernie puts it better, saying that Tammy never brought anything to the table.

Once again, I think Trump made the right choice. Bill was in charge of negotiating the rent, and in the end, the numbers just weren’t there. But he did get ten percent more than the previously assessed value of the apartment, which is impressive. Katrina should have done much better in this challenge. She made it too obvious to real estate neophyte Troy which apartment was the better choice, which may have cost her that apartment. And she should have used her negotiating skills and her ability to show the apartment rather than delegating to Bill. But Katrina had an incredible find with the contractor and really improved the apartment.

Tammy, on the other hand, contributed absolutely nothing. This was the first time she has ever been on a losing team, but I’d be hard-pressed to think of a way that she ever contributed to one of their victories before. In fact, Tammy’s team often seems to win in spite of her. Last week, for example, Carson Daly might have been insulted by Tammy’s suggestion that he alone did not make a compelling auction item. If he had taken offense, he could have refused to participate, and her team would have been in serious trouble. She is so clueless that she can’t pick up on any social cues, from asking Trump’s girlfriend how she keeps their apartment so clean, to asking George Steinbrenner about his “bling,” to calling Regis Philbin “Phil,”to saying that her team was duped. Katrina and Bill weren’t at their best this week, but they both have potential that Tammy simply does not.

Next week on The Apprentice, the contestants sell bottled water and Nick and Amy flirt. But more interestingly, we’re promised the “BEST BOARDROOM EVER,” which will include “a vicious attack.” That can only mean one thing, my friends: Omarosa is going home. We’ll find out next Thursday if I’m right.

Betsy is the Assistant Editor of RealityNewsOnline and can be reached with any comments at betsyw42@hotmail.com.

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