EPISODE FOURTEEN

Kevin and Kelly returned from the boardroom to a low-key but warm welcome. Kevin said the experience was difficult - and even Kelly, who had been exempt from firing, said that any time you step into the boardroom, you worry. With Ivana fired, it was down to the final four: Kevin, Kelly, Sandy and Jennifer M. In an interview, Sandy said that when you get to the final four, it's time to start sprinting.

Later, Kelly and Sandy talked in hushed tones about how Jennifer M. didn't step up to be Project Manager on the last task when Trump had asked for volunteers. But when Jennifer M. overheard the conversation, Kelly didn't want to discuss the issue: "There's no use arguing about it right now." he told her. In an interview, Jennifer said that Kelly couldn't talk about her to her face: "At least say it when I'm in the room... Be a man." But Sandy had no problem saying her piece. She told Jennifer M. it seemed like Jennifer M. was on the fence when Trump asked for Project Manager volunteers.

The final four met Donald at the top of Trump World Tower in a luxurious office with a breathtaking view of the city. With this as his backdrop, Trump announced that the competition had changed. There would be no more teams. Everyone was on their own now, competing for their dream job. But to be hired for that job, the candidates would have to endure a rigorous, all-day interview process where they would be grilled by four of the top business leaders in the world: Alan Jope, COO of Unilever HPC, North America; Dawn Hudson, President of Pepsi-Cola, North America; Alan "Ace" Greenberg, Chairman Executive Committee of Bear Stearns; and Robert Kraft, Owner of the New England Patriots. Trump said that their recommendations would be critical to his decision. After the interviews, the candidates would meet back in the boardroom where two would be fired. The day-long interview process was filled with tough and penetrating questions as each candidate met with each business leader. Sandy summed up the experience with: "On a scale from 1 to 10, the stress level was like 150 today."

In the boardroom, Trump assembled the four business leaders who had interviewed the candidates. Trump asked for frank and honest opinions. Dawn said that although Kelly was a little stiff, she liked him and felt that he knew how to lead. Everyone echoed this sentiment saying that Kelly's military experience taught him to give and take orders. But Alan went even further and suggested that Kelly would have to do something really wrong for Alan not to hire him. Dawn said she liked Kevin, but wasn't sure what his goal was. Ace said the same thing; he liked Kevin's resume, but wasn't sure if Kevin knew where he was going. Although Dawn thought that Jennifer M. was bright, she felt that Jennifer M. said all the right things without saying what she really thought. Robert was impressed with Sandy. Alan liked Sandy but worried that she was light on business experience. Dawn agreed and felt that Sandy hadn't really considered how hard it would be to make the transition to the corporate world. Trump thanked everyone and the four executives left the room.

Next, the candidates entered. Trump opened by asking Kelly why he should hire him and not Kevin. Kelly said that he had more experience than Kevin in business and in leadership roles. Kevin countered by arguing that he would be more willing to learn than Kelly. However, this line of reasoning didn't impress Trump, who said that while the business leaders were impressed with all of Kevin's education, they couldn't see where he was headed. Trump agreed with the executives and started downsizing the group of candidates with, "Kevin, you're fired." Trump told Kevin he knows that Kevin will be successful. Kevin thanked Trump as well as Carolyn and George and left the boardroom for the final time. Trump then told Jennifer M. and Sandy that the business leaders, as well as George and Carolyn, were all very impressed with Kelly. Trump admitted that unless Kelly said something very stupid, "...he's gonna make it." Well, that was all the two women needed to hear in order to go after each other and fight for the remaining spot. Jennifer M. forcefully argued that she had the intellectual horsepower and practical experience to get the job done - and that Sandy just didn't. Sandy touted her own entrepreneurial experience and said that Jennifer M.'s past lacked that kind of risk taking. But Trump told Sandy that she couldn't fault Jennifer M. for going to two elite colleges and being a successful lawyer. Jennifer M. struck out again and said that she was prepared for the job while Sandy was not. Jennifer M. claimed she knew Trump's company "backwards and forwards." By contrast, she said that Sandy didn't know what she'd be getting into if she became The Apprentice. As an example, Jennifer M. promised Trump that Sandy didn't know the Trump Organization's revenues for the previous year. Testing this theory, Trump asked Sandy how many employees he had. Sandy had to admit that she had no idea. But when Trump quizzed Jennifer M., she knew the answer. Ultimately, Trump said that running one of his companies was complex business and he just didn't think Sandy was equipped for the task. Try as she might to defend herself, Trump simply said, "Sandy, you're fired." Jennifer M. cupped her hands over her face at the words. The final two had been revealed! Kelly and Jennifer M. were the only ones left standing - but only one will become The Apprentice.

Back at the suite, the two final candidates gave each other plenty of space. Kelly admitted to avoiding Jennifer M. as much as he possibly could. Kelly didn't mince words when he talked about his competition: "Jen sucks. She's difficult to work with. She's unpleasant to sit with." He added that he felt Jennifer M. was afraid to lead. For her part, Jennifer M. called Kelly "manipulative" and said that she planned to "...kick Kelly's butt."

The next day in the boardroom, Kelly and Jennifer M. met with The Donald, who called the two candidates "the best of the best". Trump then gave them their last task and their ultimate test. Each candidate would oversee and manage the details of a large charity sporting event. Kelly would manage the Genworth/Trump Polo Cup to help raise money for the Alzheimer's Association while Jennifer M. would be in charge of the Genworth Charity Basketball Classic to raise money for the NBA's Read to Achieve program. Since both Kelly and Jennifer M. would be managing events for the same company, they would both be judged by the same client - a client who had a lot at stake. Since the final two were now bosses, they needed some employees. A pool of familiar faces - six fired candidates - entered the boardroom to fill the spots. Kelly chose Elizabeth, John and Raj to work for him while Jennifer picked Chris, Pamela and Stacy R. as her employees. As always, George and Carolyn would observe and report their findings.

Being a boss has its perks as Jennifer M. and Kelly discovered. Each were whisked away to their event site by a chauffeur-driven Maybach. Their employees had more modest transportation: passenger vans. Kelly and Jennifer M. didn't let their luxurious rides spoil them though; they each started planning their events during the trip. However, Kelly went a step further and had his car stop so that he could run out and hand some files to his employees so that they too could be working during the ride. In an interview, Kelly said he was aware that there was no real reward or punishment for Elizabeth, John and Raj on this task. In his own interview, Raj said he had no interest in Kelly's victory or defeat: "I'm doing this because I like winning. I couldn't give a damn about Kelly."

Kelly and his group arrived at the Greenwich Polo Club and all were impressed by the expansive and beautiful grounds. Once they settled in, the group learned about a critical task: they had to get the Genworth logo painted at the center of the polo field in a 60 foot by 60 foot area. Jennifer M.'s group arrived at Riverbank State Park where the charity basketball game would take place. Jennifer M. delegated coordinating with the NBA, the players and the emcee of the event, Sacramento King's star Chris Webber, to Pamela and Chris. Jennifer M. said that her leadership style "...is all about delegating and overseeing." But in an interview, Pamela criticized Jennifer's choices. Pamela said that she never would have handed off coordinating with the NBA if she had been the boss. She also said that a real CEO would never delegate something so important. At the polo club, Kelly's employees found a boss with a different style. John felt Kelly couldn't stop being involved in every task as Kelly meticulously tracked everything on a spreadsheet of some kind. John, Raj and Elizabeth got away from Kelly, his laptop and his spreadsheets for a bit. The trio even raced each other on the well-manicured polo field. Working in the clubhouse alone for a while, Kelly wondered where his team had gone. He worried aloud that he had three people working for him who had nothing to lose and nothing to gain while Kelly's own future hung in the balance.

As Jennifer M.'s group worked hard setting up the basketball court and preparing gift bags, she met with representatives from Genworth, who had come down for a site visit. In an interview, Jennifer M. said it was very disconcerting for the Genworth executives to arrive and see the court in its incomplete state. In her own interview, Janice Luvera of Genworth said that she was really frustrated with Jennifer M. because she felt that Jennifer M. didn't have everything worked out yet. Instead of being proactive, she felt that Jennifer M. was simply waiting for Genworth to tell her what they wanted. Janice admitted to being "nervous" and hoped that the event would not turn out to be a "disaster."

At the polo field, storm clouds were on the horizon - literally. Field painters arrived to put the Genworth logo on the grass, but the weather would not cooperate. It rained and rained hard. The painters left without even starting their task. Then, Kelly learned that Tony Bennett was coming to perform at the event. All of a sudden, the group needed a stage that they hadn't known about minutes before. Kelly said that they just had fifty things added to the other fifty they were trying to accomplish. In an interview, Kelly admitted to being "very worried" because he had no "plan B." If the polo match were canceled due to a soggy field, Kelly had no backup plan. As the rain came down, all Kelly could do was watch and hope that his dreams of becoming The Apprentice weren't being washed away with the pouring water. But Kelly's event wasn't the only one threatened with disaster. Jennifer M. was on the phone with Chris Webber's assistant and learned that the basketball star slated to headline the event was canceling. In an interview, Jennifer said, "I'm not letting Chris Webber go without a fight." But she also said that losing Chris Webber as the emcee, "...basically blows the entire event."

Candidates