EPISODE FIFTEEN

With the final tasks underway, the race to become the next Apprentice was heading into the homestretch. Jennifer M. was in charge of the Genworth Charity Basketball Classic to support the NBA's Read to Achieve program, while Kelly was running the Genworth/Trump Polo Cup to help raise money for the Alzheimer's Association. But the two final candidates were facing some of their biggest challenges yet - challenges that threatened to derail their events and cost them their dream job.

At Riverbank State Park, Jennifer M. was on the phone with Chris Webber's assistant, who told her that Chris was canceling as the emcee. Jennifer blasted the assistant for leaving them without a master of ceremonies just hours before the event. As a contingency plan, Jennifer said they would have to get another player to commit to hosting the next day. Jennifer told her group that they needed to get as much done that night as possible; it looked like it was going to be along night for everyone.

Back at the suite, Jennifer M.'s group returned, exhausted. Jennifer M. stayed up making signs for the event while the rest of her group got a few hours of sleep before the big day. Pamela felt that Jennifer M. didn't need to stay up making signs - instead, Jennifer M. should have been thinking more about managing the event and the sponsors. Pamela warned that this decision might come back to bite her.

At the polo field, Kelly and Elizabeth headed out to a late-night copy center. Kelly drove with Elizabeth as his co-pilot, offering directions. Unfortunately, the two had a hard time finding the place and spent almost an hour driving around wasting precious time. The delay also affected John and Raj, who were stranded at the polo field, waiting for Kelly and Elizabeth to return. In an interview, Kelly admitted that he robbed at least an hour and a half of sleep from Raj and John.

The big day of the charity events arrived. The court for the celebrity basketball game was shaping up. Jennifer M. put Pamela in charge of the orchestration of the game. Pamela said she was responsible for the players, what happened during the game, the half-time show and all of the NBA personnel. Jennifer M. said that she delegated large chunks of responsibility to her employees because she knew that she'd be doing a lot of the behind-the-scenes work. Next, Jennifer M. met with Genworth and walked them through the facilities, answering their questions. Jennifer M. said she felt that the executives were more reassured. But Janice Luvera of Genworth told George that while Jennifer M. had made some progress, there was much that wasn't done. The critical issue, Janice said, was that Jennifer M. didn't come up with ideas of her own on how to run the event - instead, she kept pushing the responsibility back onto the Genworth team. George said that Genworth was disappointed.

At the polo club, the sun was out and the event would go on in spite of the rain from the previous day. But Elizabeth and Raj were in anything but a sunny mood. The two argued after Elizabeth told Raj to put up a Genworth display and he said that he would do it later. During the argument, Elizabeth dubbed herself "Dictator Elizabeth" and told Raj that for the day, he would do whatever she asked. But Raj said that Elizabeth was not his dictator. Kelly intervened and Elizabeth apologized. In an interview, Raj said he had to give Kelly credit for his mediation skills.

At Riverbank State Park, Jennifer M.'s team had set-up ten Xboxes with accompanying plasma screens in comfy lounge areas so that the basketball stars could relax before the big game by saving the universe. But just as the players were starting to blast each other, the power went out. A representative from Xbox, one of the biggest event sponsors, told Jennifer M. to fix the problem. Instead of saying the problem would be taken care of, Jennifer M. asked the Xbox rep what solution would work best for him. He told her that he just wanted the situation resolved. Jennifer M. then told him what she planned to do, but he didn't care how she solved the problem, he just wanted it fixed. The mood became tense and as Jennifer M. walked away, she said, "... if we sit here and argue, I can't make it happen." The Xbox rep said that he wasn't arguing; he just wanted Jennifer M. to take care of the things she had committed to.

Kelly faced a crisis of his own when the manager of the polo club asked to see him on the field immediately. The manager called the Wisk logos that painters were spraying at the goals "a big problem" and said that they would have to be removed. He said that the horses would see the logos as obstacles and that it could be dangerous for the horses and the riders. Kelly was concerned because Wisk was a major sponsor and had a $250,000 contract for their logo to be painted on the field.

Jennifer M. worked with building engineers, who got a generator going to power the Xbox stations. Soon, the NBA players were back in action, blasting each other away. Kelly also managed to solve his problem. He talked to Wisk who agreed to have their logos painted elsewhere. The painters started their work again and Kelly said he avoided a "near explosion."

As Trump was flown in his private helicopter to Riverbank State Park for the basketball charity event, Chris said that he felt it was Jennifer M.'s responsibility to meet Trump as he arrived. But Jennifer M. was busy with other issues and as Trump touched down, neither Jennifer M., Chris, Stacy R. nor Pamela was there to meet him. When Trump finally made his way to the basketball court, Jennifer M. greeted him and ushered The Donald to his front row seat. However, Jennifer M. left the court and headed out to the VIP area before the game even started. That left Pamela literally at center court, handling game-related tasks in front of the entire crowd of VIPs, sponsors and The Donald. Pamela even walked out to the center of the basketball court and very publicly handed a microphone to NBA Commissioner David Stern, whom Jennifer M. had roped into being the evening's emcee. In an interview, Pamela said that if she were Jennifer M., she would have taken on that responsibility that Jennifer M. had given to Pamela. In her own interview, Jennifer M. said she took on a less public role but felt she had more important work to do. Another thing Jennifer M. delegated to Pamela was the task of inviting Trump to the VIP room for the after party. Once the game began, the athletes put on a great show for the crowd. After the game ended, Trump looked around and again saw no one from Jennifer M's group, so he headed back to his helicopter. After Chris reminded Pamela to invite Trump to the VIP room, Pamela looked frantically for Trump, but couldn't find him. Pamela rushed out to the tarmac and arrived just in time to see Trump's private helicopter fade into the distance. In an interview, Trump said he found it strange that no one from Jennifer M.'s group said good-bye to him.

Back in the VIP room of the basketball event, a silent auction to raise money for the charity was underway. On the auction block were Knicks' tickets, Nets' tickets, autographed jerseys and shoes... all the stuff any NBA fan could want. But Chris admitted that the auction wasn't going as well as they had hoped. So, Bob Lanier, former Detroit Pistons great, took over and turned the silent auction into, well... a non-silent one. Bob became an unabashed auctioneer, attempting to elicit higher bids on the items up for grabs. Jennifer M. jumped in and got her group to bid, which sparked a bidding war on a pair of autographed basketball shoes, driving the price up from the starting $350 to the final selling price of $1,000!

After the dramatic polo match, Trump headed home. Kelly caught up with The Donald and said good-bye. Trump reminded Kelly that he would see him the next day in the boardroom. Kelly certainly wouldn't forget, but his event was not over yet. In fact, Kelly's next challenge came as singer Tony Bennett was arriving. Kelly had to scramble to make sure that Tony Bennett had a clean place to change, so he sent John and Raj scurrying off to clean up the club house the group had used as their headquarters. A minor disaster was averted and Tony Bennett enthralled the guests with his signature style - and Kelly's event ended on a high note.

The next morning, Kelly and Jennifer M. awoke in the now nearly-empty suite. It would be the last time the two ever saw it. As they prepared for their final boardroom together, both candidates said the event would be life-changing. The two also had final parting shots for each other. In an interview, Kelly said, "I don't respect Jen. I am not afraid of a verbal sparring match at all." In her own interview, Jennifer M. said, "I don't see Kelly becoming Mr. Trump's Apprentice. Kelly ultimately doesn't have the drive and ambition. He doesn't have what it takes to be the next Apprentice. I do."

But Jennifer M. and Kelly would have to wait outside the boardroom as their employees discussed their performances behind closed doors. The six fired candidates met with Trump, George and Carolyn. Pamela thought that Jennifer M. did an adequate job. Pamela felt Jennifer M. prioritized poorly and that she was not enough of an ambassador at the event. Chris felt that Jennifer delegated more than he would have. Stacy R. thought that Jennifer M. was tough and that she deserved to win. John said that Kelly did a good job. Elizabeth thought the one thing that Kelly missed was that he didn't cater enough to the VIPs. Raj, who freely admitted that he was no fan of Kelly's, felt Kelly lacked charisma, calling him "robotic." Finally, when Trump polled the group, they were split on whom Trump should hire. Trump thanked the former candidates again for their time. The group left and Kelly and Jennifer M. entered.

Trump started with something that bothered him. He told Jennifer M. that after she showed him to his seat, he never saw her again. Jennifer M. said she worked with Genworth and had fires to put out behind the scenes. But then Trump added that at the end of the event, no one from Jennifer M.'s group showed up. Trump said he just waited around and "...stood there like an idiot." George also wanted some explanation from Jennifer M. He told her that Genworth felt that she didn't hold their hand and make them feel comfortable. Jennifer M. disagreed, but Carolyn cut her off by saying there was nothing to disagree about -- George was simply reporting what Genworth had said. George also worried that Jennifer delegated so much related to the NBA and Genworth.

Next, the focused switched to Kelly. Carolyn told Kelly that his biggest problem was keeping his staff motivated. Trump then opened up the floor so that the final two candidates could talk about each other. Jennifer M. started with a swipe at Kelly and she questioned his integrity. Kelly struck back by calling Jennifer M. a liar. Jennifer said Kelly would whisper about her behind her back in the suite and would then deny what he said. She added that Kelly is manipulative. On the positive side, Jennifer M. said that she has passion and drive and that's why she should be hired. Kelly said he should be hired because he stepped up and delivered every time. He said he always seeks leadership positions and that he has the background and experience to make him the best choice. Trump again congratulated both candidates and said that they were the final two out of a million people who had applied for the position. Trump then asked the two to step out of the room so he could confer with George and Carolyn. George said that Kelly was too wooden and lacked "fire." He admitted that Jennifer M. could be abrasive, but he liked her passion for getting the job done. George said his clear pick would be Jennifer M. Carolyn didn't make Trump's decision any easier as she picked Kelly. She said that while he made some mistakes, Kelly was without a doubt a better leader.

Trump admitted even at this late date, he hadn't made up his mind yet. So, Trump took a poll of major business leaders, the audience and even a few familiar faces from the first season of the show. The opinions were overwhelmingly in Kelly's favor.

Each candidate then got one final chance to make their case on live TV. Jennifer M. said that she rose to the top of every organization she's ever been a part of. Kelly cited his experience and consistency. Even though Jennifer M. had more to say, Trump cut her off. It was The Donald's turn to speak. Trump said that many of Jennifer M.'s teammates didn't like her. He also said that he wasn't so sure Kelly would lead the way Trump would like him to lead. But finally, Donald looked at Jennifer M. and said: "You're, fired." Then Trump turned to Kelly, and spoke the words: "You're hired." -- and Kelly became The Apprentice!

Kelly then had a choice to make. Donald had two massive construction projects that Kelly could be involved with. The first was Trump International Hotel and Tower, Las Vegas - a $500 million dollar structure that, when completed, would be the tallest luxury building in Vegas. The second was Trump Place, a $4 billion dollar project on Manhattan's West Side that will be over a dozen city blocks long. In his first executive decision as The Apprentice, Kelly chose Trump Place. He said his goal had always been to learn from Trump and so he wanted to stay in New York to do just that. Then, Kelly hopped into his waiting limo to start a new chapter in his life as The Apprentice!

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