EPISODE TWO

HOTEL HIJINKS

Up in the suite, the candidates wondered who would return from the boardroom. Bren was sure that Danny would be fired, calling him a "loose cannon." But then the front door opened to reveal Danny and Alex. Danny's team reacted surprised but happy as the man in the leisure suit strode back in. Danny and Alex were welcomed back with plenty of hugs. In an interview, Danny admitted that Trump called him a "disaster," but he felt that Trump saw the similarities between the two - that they were both brash individuals. But Danny admitted that he would have to prove himself going forward.

The next day, The Donald met the two teams at Trump International Hotel and Tower. Before he got down to business, Trump noticed that Danny had ditched his more unique business wear for a traditional suit. Trump complimented Danny on the new look. Then The Donald laid out the task. Each team would be given $20,000 to renovate a motel on the New Jersey shore on a very tight schedule. The teams would then welcome paying guests, who would rate the motel and the customer service they received through Yahoo! Local. The team with the highest rating from the guests would win. George and Carolyn would be along to keep a watchful eye on things. As always, the losers would return to the boardroom where someone would be fired.

Brian, of Net Worth (Street Smarts), volunteered to be Project Manager and no one on the team objected - at least out loud. Not everyone thought Brian was the man for the job. Although she was quiet in the group, in an interview, Kristen had much to say. She warned that with Brian as Project Manager, the team was doomed to chaos.

When Net Worth arrived at the Surfside Motel, the team was excited. Angie said that the place looked great. But when she walked into one of the rooms, her opinion quickly changed. Tara said that people on her team were shocked at seeing the rooms, which were filled with mildew, broken walls and horrible smells. While things were ugly on the inside of the motel, they started to get ugly on the outside when Kristen, who was in charge of the team's budget, clashed with Brian. Brian ordered a dumpster so that the team could begin their renovations, but Kristen felt that they really needed a budget before they started spending any money. In spite of this, Brian said to go ahead and order the dumpster. Frustrated, Kristen voiced her dissent. In an interview, Brian said of Kristen, "I think she forgets I'm the Project Manager."

Magna (Book Smarts) arrived at their motel, the Sea Garden. They too loved the outside of the place. And they too discovered a motel of horrors on the inside. There was everything from water damage to families of bugs thriving in the bathtubs.

Michael, the Project Manager, and Verna, whose responsibilities included customer service, didn't see eye to eye. The two argued over what to focus on. Michael's top priority was renovating the motel; for him, that took precedence over everything. He said that if you don't have rooms, you can't have customers - and without customers, customer service wouldn't matter. But Verna felt that the physical motel was only half of the job they had before them. She thought that Michael was ignoring this fact. Michael eventually walked away from Verna, saying he didn't have time to waste on the conversation. Verna didn't seem too happy either.

Back at the Surfside Motel, Net Worth divided the work between the men and the women. The men stayed at the motel, taking inventory of the rooms and deciding what renovations were needed while the women went shopping for furnishings. Brian made the executive decision to get all new toilets - fourteen of them. Craig was stunned when he heard the news. He felt that only one or two actually needed to be replaced; the others just needed a modest investment, like a new toilet seat. Craig wasn't the only one who had a problem with replacing all of the toilets. When Audrey heard the news, she held her head in her hands in disbelief... and then said some things you just can't say on TV.

As Magna worked into the wee hours of the morning, Michael and Verna had another run-in. Michael asked Verna to paint a room, but Verna said that she still had logistical duties to take care of. In an interview, Michael said that he felt Verna took the job of managing the budget because it required the least physical labor. After some discussion, Verna agreed to paint, but that didn't end the conflict. The two exchanged words again. In the end, Verna asked Mike, "Why don't you go somewhere and do nothing like you've been doing all day?"

Net Worth had its own personality conflicts. While John was trying to counsel Brian on his use of tact, the two ended up in a tactless argument. By the end, John told Brian that he was a "silly little man" who "botched" the task - and he added that no one liked him. John warned that Brian would not win the task with his attitude. But there was more discord to come. After sunrise, Kristen laid into Brian in front of other team members. She was upset because the team didn't have enough money to buy beds - and she blamed Brian for wasting money on toilets they didn't need. When Brian said he finally wanted to review the budget, Kristen responded that she'd been asking for that since the day before and now it was too late. She called Brian a terrible leader and said that if the team loses, she would lobby for Brian to be fired - and she promised that the rest of the team would back her up on it. Kristen finally walked away, refusing to sit down with her Project Manager and go over the budget.

As the renovations came down to the wire, Magna was scheduled to receive guests, but weren't done with their work. There was trash everywhere and the rooms stunk of fresh paint. In an interview, Alex said he was convinced that his team was going to lose and that someone on Magna would be fired. At the Surfside Motel, George worried about Net Worth and was surprised that the team had not replaced the old carpeting.

At the Sea Garden, Danny and Verna worked the front desk, greeting guests and checking them in. According to Danny, they "rocked it." As Danny showed people to their rooms, he decided to tell them all that the motel would be having a get-together at 8pm that night. Well, the invitations worked. People came out of their rooms that evening for an impromptu party. The party got hopping and guests even jumped into the pool for a midnight swim. In an interview, Danny said that having college degrees really paid off in the task because he and his teammates had spent plenty of time blowing off class and partying in school. Everyone at the Sea Garden seemed to be having a great time - everyone but Verna, who kept her distance from the festivities. Verna complained that she was mentally and physically exhausted.

Back at Net Worth's motel, another argument erupted between Kristen and Brian. It was 11pm and the two argued in the courtyard, bringing guests out of their rooms to see what was going on. Angie and Audrey finally separated them. But when Angie and Audrey ended up in a van with Kristen, she was still venting about Brian. They asked Kristen to be quiet, but when she wouldn't, Angie finally exploded and said a few things that you can't say on TV. Kristen left the van and Angie was thankful that at least it was quiet.

While others on her team passed out from exhaustion, Verna said she spent most of the night pacing and worrying that she hadn't been taking care of herself. Verna wondered if she'd be able to continue. After sunrise, Bren woke up as guests were checking out. So, he went to find Verna, who was in bed. When Bren asked Verna if they had any coffee for their guests, she told him that she was no longer playing the game. Bren didn't seem to comprehend what Verna was saying, but eventually he understood that she wasn't going to be of any help. Verna closed her bedroom door, shutting out the rest of the world. Bren was worried about the team's satisfaction surveys. He said that, even though the guests had partied the night before, they were now about to fill out a survey just before missing their morning coffee. As Bren was being interviewed, Verna left the premises, wheeling her suitcase behind her. The only problem was that she didn't seem to be heading anywhere in particular. Verna seemed to wander aimlessly with her suitcase in tow.

When Carolyn heard about Verna's departure, she got in her car and drove around the neighborhood looking for her. Carolyn finally spotted Verna and jumped out of her car to talk with the wandering candidate. But Verna said nothing and she just kept on walking. When Carolyn asked Verna how she was doing, Verna remained silent and never let up her pace. Carolyn finally coaxed Verna into the car, got her talking and brought her back to the motel. On the edge of tears, Verna told Michael that she needed an attitude adjustment and said that, if the team loses, she would volunteer to be fired. While the team accepted Verna back with hugs, some team members were unhappy with her. In an interview, Erin said that Verna was in charge of customer service and blew it. She said, "Verna essentially sabotaged our blood, sweat and tears." Erin said that she wanted Verna to go home and called her "dead weight."

After all of the hard work (and after all of the surveys had been filled out), the two teams reunited back in the boardroom to learn their fate. Trump first addressed Verna. He said he heard that she had a hard time but was back. Trump said there's nothing better than a comeback in his book. Then Trump got down to the matter at hand. George reported that Net Worth received an average survey score, on a scale from 1 to 5 with 5 being best, of 2.92. But Carolyn said that Magna received a score of 3.96. Magna cheered in victory! As their reward, the group sailed aboard a magnificent yacht with well-known businessman Steve Forbes, Editor-in-Chief of Forbes magazine. The group had dinner, drinks and cigars. Then Forbes took off from the deck in his private helicopter. Magna ended the night with their signature cheer of "Unbelievable!" Back at the suite, there were more arguments as Brian and John got into it. John thought Brian was abrasive and a terrible leader. Brian felt that he was abandoned by his team and that he had to hire contractors to do all the work.