EPISODE TEN

MEATBALL MADNESS

After surviving the boardroom, Angie and Chris walked back into the suite and Angie got a big hug from Tana - but not everyone was happy. Stephanie admitted she was disappointed that Erin was gone. To Stephanie, that meant she was "stuck" on a team with Chris and Angie, who she called "mean," "rude," and "verbally abusive." But it cut both ways as Angie wasn't thrilled with having to work with Stephanie either. Angie accused Stephanie of not supporting her in the boardroom; Angie even mocked Stephanie with an impression of her. Although Stephanie looked exasperated, Chris got a kick out of the impression and laughed. Net Worth was anything but one big happy family. But Magna had their own family secrets as Alex, Kendra, and Bren held a covert meeting without Tana and Craig. Alex, Kendra and Bren decided to keep the power concentrated in their original team members and declared that Bren would lead the team next.

The following day, the two teams met with Trump, who didn't sugarcoat the situation. He told Net Worth that they had been decimated and were on a losing streak. Trump let Angie, Chris and Stephanie steal a member from Magna. The three came to a quick and unanimous decision:  they wanted Alex. Alex said good-bye to his old teammates and moved over to his new group, evening the teams up with four candidates each. Then Trump laid out the next task. Each team would create a brand-new type of pizza for Dominos, a company that he said serves up more than 400 million pizzas a year to hungry customers. Each team would incorporate a pizza topping that Dominos didn't normally use - Trump mentioned he was partial to meatballs. Each team would then make and sell their pizzas from a mobile kitchen. The winner would be the team with the highest sales. The losers would return to the boardroom where another candidate would be fired. George and Carolyn would keep a watchful eye on the fledgling pizza businesses and report back to Trump.

Stephanie was happy to be Project Manager of Net Worth not only because she felt she could bring the team to victory, but because she didn't want Chris to be their leader. In her own words, Stephanie said that when Chris led the team, he was "a nutcase." Net Worth's first task was to create a new type of pizza. The group brainstormed and eventually picked Trump's suggestion of meatballs as their new topping. Alex tossed out "Meatball Masterpiece" for the name and it stuck.

Chris confided in Angie that he had kicked his tobacco chewing habit, just as he had promised Trump. But now, instead of a jaw full of tobacco, Chris was chewing on a jaw full of sunflower seeds. Angie was concerned about Chris quitting cold turkey and suggested he think about tapering off by using nicotine gum. Chris shot down the idea, but admitted that he might be a little short with people for a while. Angie said, "You're short on a good day" - and Chris confessed that the charge was true.

Magna had its own brainstorming session, led by Project Manager Bren. Team members threw out all kinds of new pizza concoctions, including meatloaf pizza, taco pizza and pepper steak pizza. Tana said that her Italian heritage came out when she pitched the idea of meatball toppings and dubbed the new creation the "Manga Meatball" pizza ("manga" meaning "eat" in Italian). The team liked the idea and went with the new topping and name. Tana said it was great to contribute so much to the task, but she also knew that she would be exposed to risk if the team failed.

Tana and Kendra were in charge of marketing and the duo went after a five block radius around their location to solicit orders from business firms and small shops. Kendra said that the task would be won or lost on this marketing effort - and the ability of Craig and Bren to fill the orders.

As Project Manager, Stephanie hired promotional models to help sell pizzas. Stephanie told the models to hit the dormitories at NYU. Inside the team's mobile pizza kitchen, Chris was making the pizzas while Alex worked the front counter. But Chris felt that Alex was chatting up the ladies when he needed to be working the register, taking orders and answering the phone. Stephanie said she needed to deliver pizzas to a construction site in Brooklyn. Alex warned that the trip would take an hour. But Stephanie left the troops and headed out to deliver the pies even though she had never stepped foot on a New York subway. But Stephanie persevered, found the construction site, made the delivery and apologized for the delay.

Back at Net Worth's mobile pizza parlor, things were getting hot. Chris was frustrated when Alex was talking with one of the team's models and not picking up the ringing phone. Chris yelled at Alex and Alex told Chris not to yell at him again. Chris was incredulous. "Are you serious?", he asked. Chris had had enough and told Alex twice, "Get the f*** out of my face." In an interview, Alex said that Chris had physically threatened him.

When Stephanie got back from Brooklyn and her subway delivery, Angie said that they should get the models they hired over to Union Square - but Stephanie admitted that she didn't know where the models were. After selling their last pizza, the team headed back to Trump Tower. On the way, Alex told Stephanie that Chris had threatened him. Stephanie said that the behavior was unprofessional and unacceptable.

Both teams arrived at the boardroom to learn the results of their hard work. Carolyn reported that Magna had taken in $653.12 thanks in large part to Kendra and Tana's marketing effort. George said that Net Worth's sales totaled only $523.90. Magna was the winner! Trump asked Stephanie who she thought the problem was. Stephanie didn't hesitate. "Chris," she said. As the winners, the members of Magna would move up from pizza to breakfast with Trump in his apartment the next morning. As for Net Worth, they would return to the boardroom where someone would be fired.

In the suite, Chris confronted Alex when he heard that Alex was saying that Chris had threatened him. Chris told Alex that he never threatened him - and to say so was being dishonest. But Alex told Chris that when Chris said, "Get the f*** out of my face", Alex took that to mean Chris was close to getting into a physical fight with him. Chris said that he was not threatening Alex and was not going to fight him. In an interview, Chris said he once thought of Alex as a friend, but now he knew that Alex was deceitful and couldn't be trusted.

When Magna arrived at Donald's apartment for breakfast, they were impressed by the décor. In an interview, Kendra said that the place was so full of gold that Trump must have been a rapper in a former life. Tana knew that the breakfast was more than a chance to eat. She said that it was an important opportunity to spend time with The Donald outside of the boardroom.

Back in the suite, Stephanie and Alex had a secret meeting filled with whispers. Stephanie told Alex they both knew who needed to go. But she said that if she brought Angie back in to face the firing with her, Angie wouldn't necessarily gun for Chris. So, Stephanie proposed that she bring Alex back in to face the firing and then they could both take Chris out. But Alex wasn't on board with the idea. He felt that if Stephanie brought Alex and Chris in, all three would be equally likely to be fired. Alex was honest with Stephanie and said that if she were looking for someone to go solely after Chris, Alex was not her man. Alex said it would be everyone for himself.