Orthodox Apprentice: Episode 8 - Lee vs Leslie

Tonight's second episode of The Apprentice opened with Gold Rush returning to the suite. Charmaine Hunt told Lee that, for the first time, he showed his age in the boardroom. She was upset over Lee's strong loyalty to his friend, Lenny, and most importantly that Lee singled her out as the candidate whom Trump should fire. "I like to stick up for principle," Lee answered. Lee Bienstock is the remaining Orthodox Apprentice candidate, since Dan Brody was fired in Episode 5.

Prior to the start of the 7-Eleven P'EatZZa Sandwich task, Trump asked for a volunteer from Synergy to switch teams. Michael Laungani volunteered since he wasn't getting along with his teammates. Lee immediately embraceed Michael and welcomed him to the team. It was a wise strategic move since Lee just lost his only close ally with the previous task.

Although Leslie Bourgeois was the project manager, it appeared that Lee took the lead. In the evening (October 19, Motzei Yom Tov Sukkot), Lee visited the 7-11 at 23rd Street and Park Avenue and asked the store manager to remove sandwiches from the center display case, making room for pizza sandwiches. Lee asked the night manager about sandwich pricing and brought the information back to the team, late at night. (It's possible that Lee was putting in extra long hours that night to make up for what he couldn't do earlier in the day, on Yom Tov.) The team disagreed with Lee's price recommendation and Leslie made the decision to price the product higher, against Lee's advice.

The next day - Thursday, October 20 (Chol HaMoed Sukkot) - the teams went to their stores to sell P'Eatzza Sandwiches. Lee heard a couple employees (something seemed different about that group... not your typical slurpee crew) say the price was too high. Lee told Leslie, but she declined to adjust the price. She got upset with Lee and told him to go outside. Lee found a customer who was interested in purchasing 1,000 sandwiches. Lee consulted with Leslie and then offered a price of $3 a sandwich. The customer held his ground at $2. Lee checked with Leslie again and then offered $2.50, but the buyer wouldn't budge. It was a noble effort but unfortunately nothing was gained.

Lee's strong initiative and creative thinking were very evident in this episode. Unfortunately, as expected, Gold Rush lost.

With Lee as the lone exception, the team was united with Leslie during this task so she had no choice but to bring Lee back into the boardroom with her. Lee started talking and talking and talking and wouldn't pause for even a moment. "You're out of control!" Leslie told him. We were worried that he'd talk himself into a firing. Fortunately, he was making some valid points and Trump heard him. It all came down to the pricing. Lee wanted a lower price but Leslie chose the higher price. Trump, George and Carolyn all agreed that Lee was right. And that's why, "Leslie, you're fired!"

Lee scored major points on this task. He showed initiative, intelligence and persistence. And he went for the BIG sale. Trump likes that. In the previous episode, Lee also scored points for his strong loyalty.

Gold Rush has lost four in a row, but Lee is looking better than ever.

Ironically, The Apprentice is off next week during the Passover holiday. The next episode airs on April 24.