EPISODE THREE

In the suite, the members of Mosaic were stunned to learn that Bradford had given up his exemption. Soon, everyone in the suite was equally stunned when Jennifer C., Ivana and Stacie J. walked in - which meant that Bradford had been fired! Later, the women of Apex confronted Stacie J. and told her that they were all concerned because of the way she behaved in the first task, which Maria dubbed, "freaking out." Stacy R. told Stacie J. that her behavior showed, "...an inability to cope in a situation that's stressful..." She went on to say, "...and we all felt extremely concerned for your wellbeing." In her own interview, Stacie J. said she had to prove herself to the rest of her team, but that it would be difficult because she felt as if her teammates were like enemies.

The next morning, both teams learned that they would work with Procter & Gamble (P&G) - a 50 billion dollar company - on their next task. Each team would be given a budget of $50,000 to "create a buzz," as Trump put it, about the company's new product - Vanilla Mint Crest toothpaste. The team that did the best job on the product launch, as judged by executives from P&G, would be rewarded. The losing team would take another trip to the boardroom, where someone would be fired. Trump challenged the candidates to "think big" on this task. The everpresent George and Carolyn would be along to observe.

Kevin was appointed Project Manager of Mosaic through a random drawing. He got down to business and led the group in a brainstorming session. Everyone tried to think "big." Ideas that were thrown around included pumping the subway system full of vanilla aroma - as well as filling the nearby river with toothpaste-colored foam. But Andy thought even bigger. He suggested giving away the chance to win one million dollars! He said that the team could accomplish this with its limited budget because they would not actually be giving away a million dollars - only the chance to win a million dollars. So, one lucky contest winner would get the small chance (like 1 in 100) to win a million dollars. Andy said that all the team had to do was buy insurance to cover them in the event that someone actually won the million. He said that companies did this all the time in their sweepstakes. The team worked with Madeline de Vries, CEO of DeVries Public Relations firm to help secure the needed insurance. Madeline involved a legal team and started the ball rolling. However, in an interview, Pamela admitted to being worried that the team had all of its eggs in this basket; if the lawyers said no, Mosaic would have no launch campaign at all.

Since Elizabeth had worked for P&G, she was elected Project Manager of Apex. The team decided to use a celebrity endorsement to create a buzz about the new Vanilla Mint Crest toothpaste. Apex worked with the Alliance Agency to secure an appearance by Mike Piazza, beloved catcher for the NY Mets. Elizabeth was concerned because booking the athlete would stretch their budget to the limit. But once Piazza agreed to brush his teeth at the public launch event, the deal was sealed.

Later that night, Stacie J. and Jennifer C. arrived at a warehouse to pick up the toothpaste for their event. Unfortunately, Stacie J., who was responsible for transporting the product, had underestimated how large 20,000 tubes of toothpaste would be. When Stacie J. saw the large storage room filled with more than 800 cases of Crest Vanilla Mint, her mouth dropped open. There was no way the two women could move that much toothpaste with only a passenger van. To top it off, the women only had three minutes until the warehouse closed. Jennifer C. asked Stacie J., "Did you even think?"

Things were coming down to the wire for Apex. At about 1:15am, Maria was on the phone with the printers, who were going to print Crest Vanilla Mint fliers for Apex's launch event. Maria asked the printer for the cost. The printer said that he couldn't give Maria a price because everyone that would be involved in the job was asleep. He said he could quote a price at 7am. Ivana, who was managing the budget, was not happy when Maria could not tell her the agreed price for the printing. In the suite, Mosaic was working late as well. In an interview, Andy admitted that the strategy to give away the opportunity to win a million dollars was a risky one. If it worked, it would "bode well" for him; if it failed, his head would be on "the chopping block." At around 2:30am, Mosaic got a call from Madeline of DeVries Public Relations, who had bad news. The lawyers she'd been working with had too many concerns about the giveaway and had decided they couldn't take on the liability. The million dollar launch campaign was dead. And Mosaic looked crushed.

The next day, Mosaic bounced back with a new plan: they would give away three $5,000 prizes in a circus-like atmosphere, populated by, well, circus performers. The team had hired a fire-eater, a stilt-walker and jugglers, who all performed while the team gave away Crest Vanilla Mint toothpaste. The event ended without a hitch as the team gave away the prize money. Kevin, Mosaic's Project Manager, felt that his team recovered well after losing the million dollar giveaway campaign. Across town, Apex had a crowd gathered around Mike Piazza, who brushed his teeth in front of chanting fans. Then, Piazza signed boxes of Crest Vanilla Mint toothpaste and the Crest fliers that Apex had commissioned. Elizabeth, Apex's Project Manager, also felt that her team had done a great job.

Maria, Ivana and Stacy R. met with Alliance to go over Apex's budget. The candidates were surprised to learn that the fliers cost much more than they had thought - putting the team $5,000 over budget. Maria told the printer that she had given him a price that they could not go over, but the printer said that there were overtime costs. In an interview, Ivana said that the team went over budget because there wasn't clarity in the negotiations with the printer.

Later, the two teams met up with the P&G executives as they presented their verdict to Donald. The executives thought that Mosaic did a great job, creating a fun and interactive experience while promoting the product. But they thought that Apex's event, with Mike Piazza brushing his teeth, was even better. However, the executives said that they had just learned that Apex had gone over budget by $5,000 - to which Trump said, "That's big." The executives said that unfortunately, budgets count too and so they would have to go with Mosaic as performing the best. For their reward, the members of Mosaic would dine aboard the Queen Mary 2 - the largest ocean liner in the world - as it sailed through New York Harbor. In addition, as Project Manager of the winning team, Kevin would be exempt from the firing the next week. As the losing team, Apex would meet with Donald in the boardroom where someone would be fired.

Aboard the Queen Mary 2, the Mosaic team dined on lobster and filet mignon - and then sang a rousing rendition of "America the Beautiful" as they looked out at the illuminated Statue of Liberty. Back at the suite, Elizabeth and Maria argued. Elizabeth said that the team went over budget because Maria was not clear in her negotiations with the printer. Maria countered that the budget issue was ultimately a leadership issue - and so was Elizabeth's responsibility. Stacie J. stayed out of the fray, but thought that Elizabeth would bring her in to face the firing because the rest of the women were part of a clique.

In the boardroom, Trump told Apex that while P&G liked their product launch best, Apex went over budget by 10%, no small amount. Elizabeth pointed the finger at Maria, saying that the item Maria was responsible for was the single thing that put them $5,000 over budget. Maria said that she had agreed with the printer on the lower price, which would have kept them within their budget. Trump asked Elizabeth who she wanted to take with her to face the firing. Elizabeth chose Maria and Stacie J. With the candidates out of the room, Carolyn said she thought that Elizabeth was a "terrible leader." Carolyn also said that Maria was responsible for going over budget but wasn't taking responsibility for it. George said he wasn't sure he could trust Maria to handle a company's finances.

After Elizabeth, Maria and Stacie J. returned to the boardroom, Trump asked Elizabeth if Ivana shouldn't be seated at the table instead of Stacie J. Elizabeth said no, Stacie J. performed poorly on the task. But Maria said that she knew the real reason why Stacie J. was in the boardroom. Maria said that in the first task with Mattel, "Stacie acted in a manner that... led us to believe that there could possibly be a second personality to Stacie - literally." Elizabeth agreed that Stacie J. had exhibited odd behavior. Stacie insisted that her teammates were "blowing this all out of proportion." Trump said that this was too important an issue to ignore and he told Maria to go up to the suite and bring back the rest of Apex. Maria ran into the suite and called back all the women, some of whom had to quickly get dressed again. With the full team reassembled back in the boardroom, Donald repeated the concerns that Elizabeth and Maria had voiced about Stacie J. Everyone else on the team echoed the concerns about Stacie J's behavior. Jennifer M. said the behavior had made her nervous, while Stacy R. said the incident was "one of the most scary moments of my life." Trump told Stacie that he had to listen when everyone on the team felt she was a liability. Trump said that he couldn't take the chance that something like what Stacie J. did would happen again, so Donald fired her.

Team Apex Team Mosaic