Did she ever love me?

Did I ever mean anything?

Was I ever her little girl,

Or was I just her servant child?

With these questions on my mind,

I’d cry myself to sleep at night.

I’d live day by day

Afraid of what she’d say.

“You are worthless, child.”

“Can’t you do anything right?”

“I brought you into this world,

And I can take you out.”

These are the things I’d hear

From my mother’s mouth to my ears.

She broke me down ‘til I couldn’t fly,

But despite her words,

I learned to soar.

Not knowing a mother’s love

Can be hard to overcome,

But I stand here today

Saying it can be done.

Just grab that hand reaching out

Ready to pull you to solid ground.

Stand on your feet and spread your wings,

And you, too, can fly like me.

This week, the contestants were asked to split up into three teams of two. The teams were Frank and Heidi; Kristine and Nicole; and James and Stefanie. They were then sent to Las Vegas to design an ad campaign for the Trump International Hotel and Tower Las Vegas. They were to present their campaigns to Mr. Trump and Don, Jr. Initially, the team that made the worst presentation were to be fired, but then two presentations, Frank and Heidi's and Kristine and Nicole's, went up in flames. They absolutely sucked! Mr. Trump decided to fire one person from each team, and Heidi and Kristine were sent home.

Throughout the task, Nicole did absolutely nothing. She rested on her laurels and left Kristine to do all the work. When it came time for their presentation, Nicole ran into technical difficulty with the PowerPoint presentation they had prepared, and Mr. Trump had to ask James to help them. Then Mr. Trump discovered that their brochure did not have the right phone number. They had a great brochure, but it became a gilded lily with this fatal error. How was Mr. Trump supposed to attract customers if they could not contact him? Since Nicole's laziness and complacency had force Kristine to do all the work, it was Kristine who got fired. Always double check your information, and if your coworker refuses to help, do not be afraid to do what you need to in order to get the help you need, even if it means reporting you coworker's laziness to your boss. During the boardroom, Kristine stated that this was not the Nicole she had worked with on previous tasks. Perhaps Kristine should have spoken to Nicole to see if anything was wrong.

Frank and Heidi also had some friction. On the way to Las Vegas, Frank wanted to go see Mr. Trump's entire plane. Hey, I would , too; that is a gorgeous jet, but Frank had a job to do and he needed to sit down and do it. Frank did focus on the task and put together a decent video while Heidi was supposed to be making their brochure. Heidi fell apart under the pressure, and they wound up with a crappy brochure that Mr. Trump called a "novel," and Don, Jr. noticed that it did not even have a picture of the building. I may not be in real estate, but I do like to travel. I would never stay in a hotel unless I know what to expect when I get there, and pictures are a great way to show off the building and rooms. When Mr. Trump asked who was responsible for the disaster of a brochure, Heidi lied and tried to pin at least some of the blame on Frank because he has so much energy. Frank fought back and finally got Heidi to admit she was responsible. Her lying, double talking, and contradicting statements hurt her credibility. Then she stated that she was embarrassed by this task and would agree with Mr. Trump if he fired her. He did. I have stated it in a previous blog, and I will say it again: Don't lie! Lying hurt Heidi's credibility and was one of the reason's Mr. Trump fired her. She also would not take responsibility for her mistake, the disaster of a brochure she put together, hurting her credibility even more. Heidi may have started out as Mr. Trump's superstar, but her loss of credibility, respectability, and trustworthiness made her into Mr. Trump's fallen star and resulted in her being fired.

Now that Kinetic is gone, I need to amend what I stated in a previous blog. I said Mr. Trump should not hire anyone from Arrow, but as only members of Arrow are left, it is plain that Mr. Trump will be hiring a member of that team. So far Frank and James seem to be the best contestants. Nicole has gotten lazy, and while Stefanie may do her job and be organized, I have not seen what kind of business person she is. Frank and James are both dynamic, intelligent, energetic, hard-working men; however, James has more polish. I can see Mr. Trump hiring James on the finale and Frank afterwards. I no longer think Nicole will be an asset to the Trump Organization.

Recently, I went to the Trump University website and read a blog by Sean Yazbeck entitled "I Flirted on The Apprentice and I Survived" in which he discussed hi experience winning The Apprentice despite flirting with a competitor. As Apprentice fans may recall, Mr. Yazbeck won last season. Unfortunately, I only started watching this season, so I'm not going to compare Mr. Yazbeck's romance with Tim's. However, in his blog, Mr. Yazbeck mentioned that the risks of an office romance are different for men and women and asked his readers to comment on that. I did; now I'm going to expand on my comment.

The risks for an office romance are different for men and women. Office romances are generally frowned upon, but men who engage in one and continue to remain successful in business are generally tolerated. As we saw on The Apprentice, when he is not successful, he becomes a scapegoat and the romance becomes an intolerable distraction. However, if a woman engages in an office romance, she is given the reputation of the "office slut", to be blunt. If this same woman has the romance with a man of a higher rank and becomes successful or routinely get the better tasks, she is accused of "sleeping her way to the top", even if it was hard work and brains, not the romance, that garnered her success.

It can be difficult to avoid getting into an office romance, because you see and work with the same people everyday. You get to know them and form som friendships. They may start ous as acquaintances, but given time, you are close friends with some of your coworkers; perhaps some are of the opposite gender. The relationships are okay as long as you remain "just close friends," but when someone wants more, ladies, those warning bells should start going off. They may not, because you may like him, too, but you should still think twice, or even three or four times, before letting the relationship progress. Everyone wants to find that special someone. I know I do, but if we want our hard work and brains to be recognized and avoid those rumors and reputations I mentioned earlier, we need to be cautious about with whom we get into a relationship, or that relationship could hurt us.

This week, the candidates had to prepare a supplement to the LA Times advertising the new Smart mouth mouthwash. Arrow went with a scientific approach, while Kinetic once again went for sex appeal. Arrow had a simple pamphlet with an insert that contained a lot of information and seemed disjointed. Their models looked like they had just gotten up and were debating going back to bed. Kinetic's supplement was shaped like the product, had pictures of themselves dressed for different times of the day, and really "popped." Kinetic won and was treated to dinner made and served by their loved ones. Arrow went to the boardroom where Tim was fired for his ambiguity about where his loyalty lied. Some one new to business could learn several things from this episode:

1. When James returned from the boardroom after Angela was fired, he told Tim that Nicole wanted him to go over to Kinetic and asked him if he would. Tim was not able to provide a clear answer to that question, and his loyalty to his team came into question. Don't show any sign of disloyalty. A little trust goes a long way. If you lose even a small amount of trust, you could really end up in hot water, and you would have to work harder that you ever have before in order to regain that trust. A loss of trust will make your life hell.

2. During the challenge, Frank and Stephanie went back to the mansion to get ready for the presentation. James and Tim were supposed to follow, but decided to stay. When Tim tried to call Frank and Stephanie to ask them to bring him some clothes, no one answered because they didn't have phones! Over at Kinetic, Heidi was getting pictures of anything and everything they could possibly need. As the old Boy Scout motto goes: "Be prepared." If your team splits up, make sure you can communicate with each other. An inability to communicate can really screw things up and add stress to what is probably an already stressful situation. Think ahead, plan ahead. You never know what you might need.

3. At the task resolution, Arrow was criticized because it was unclear what they were advertising. They easily could be selling a sleep aid. Their ad was also disjointed and had too many scientific explanations that were hard to understand. In marketing, make sure the message is clear. People need to be sure as what you are selling or the ad will be thrown away. The same could be said if the ad is boring and/or disjointed. The ad needs to "pop" or get people's attention. If it doesn't, then it will be ignored and thrown away, perhaps without even being looked at.

4. This week's reward was the sweetest reward! I knew Mr. Trump was a great guy! He brought in Kristine's husband and Heidi's and Nicole's mothers to hang out and make them dinner. This reward really helped them focus and regain perspective as to why they are there. Nicole's mother gave her some great advice: focus on the tasks and why she's there and worry about Tim and their relationship after The Apprentice. Hey Nicole, listen to your momma. She's right!

5. In the boardroom, Tim was fired because he couldn't separate his personal and professional loyalties. His feelings for Nicole became a distraction for him and the team and hurt his ability to do his job. You need to be able to separate your personal and professional loyalties. Personal emotions for someone on the opposite team should not hinder your ability to do your job. Love for another person should motivate you to be a better person, to work harder, and to improve your professional standing. Tim was conflicted with his personal loyalty to Nicole and his personal and professional loyalties to his team, and that made him a liability instead of an asset to his team. This is ultimately why he was fired. He should have let his feelings for Nicole propel him into working harder and really shine. That would have impressed both Nicole and Mr. Trump. Nicole has used her feelings for Tim, both good and bad, to propel her into working harder and really try to shine. Even if Mr. Trump doesn't hire her on The Apprentice, I think he should hire her to be in the Trump Organization as she will be a great asset for him and his company.