Apprentice Babe Blinks

Donald Trump was running a two-for-one special on last Thursday's The Apprentice. Not only did he fire 28-year-old investment manager Wes Moss, but he also terminated 31-year-old marketing guru Maria Boren. Adding insult to injury, the pair didn't even get their own cabs! Luckily, TV Guide Online's Michael Ausiello doesn't believe in sharing, so he gave Maria her very own Q&A and devoted a portion of this week's "Ask Ausiello" to Wes. Simply put, everyone's a winner!

TV Guide Online: OK, what the hell happened to you in Thursday's episode?
Maria Boren: At the photo shoot, we were all feeling the pressure of making a deadline. And Wes had actually come up to me on a couple of different occasions and said, "We really need to see this happen." The point where I actually flew off the handle at him was when he came over one last time and said, with added passion, "We have got to finish this up." And he just, quite honestly, felt that I wasn't hearing him. And looking back on it now, he was right.

TVGO: Your freak-out kinda reminded me of Stacie J.'s 8-Ball meltdown...
Maria: That was completely different. Hers was complete paranoia. Mine was, "Listen, we're trying to get this done. I'm trying to help you here. Back off, I will deliver!" Mine wasn't a crumble-under-pressure, consulting-an-8-Ball episode.

TVGO: It kinda looked like the same thing to me. It was two women cracking under pressure.
Maria: But you only saw a few minutes of [Stacie's freak-out]. That actually went on for 45 minutes.

TVGO: OK, what's the deal with the blinking?
Maria: It's a low-blood sugar thing. It's low blood sugar mixed with literally no sleep.

TVGO: Some of our readers thought you had a tendency to blink more when you were caught in a lie.
Maria: Oh, that's simply B.S.

TVGO: Really?
Maria: Complete B.S. I blinked when I was tired. I blinked when I was sitting at a table and people were talking. I blinked when we were working on Day 1 of our task and it was 4 o'clock in the morning.

TVGO: Are you aware of it when it's happening?
Maria: I'm totally aware of it when it starts happening. Unfortunately, I might not have the opportunity to get some apple juice.

TVGO: What about during the QVC segment?
Maria: It's interesting. I ended up doing about half of the segment because Jen's mind went dead, so...

TVGO: So you were given a raw deal?
Maria: Absolutely.

TVGO: Why did you let Wes do all the talking in the taxi?
Maria: Immediately my thought process was to self-assess. So I was processing everything that had happened and how I could have made it better.

TVGO: Given your very conservative alma mater, did you have any apprehension about doing that racy Maxim cover?
Maria: The Maxim photo shoot was an opportunity for some added exposure in the area of modeling and some fashion things, so I didn't have a problem doing it.

TVGO: You want to be a model?
Maria: Not so much modeling as marketing of women. I'm more about empowering women to not just develop their outward look, but their inward as well.

TVGO: Speaking of superficial beauty, last week your fellow contestant Chris Russo ranked all of the Apprentice ladies on a hotness scale: ten being hot, one being not so hot. First of all, he gave you the highest mark — a nine.
Maria: He did!? God bless him.

TVGO: Wanna turn the tables and rank the guys?
Maria: You're kidding me, right?

TVGO: No, I'm totally serious.
Maria: This is not fair...

TVGO: Oh, come on...
Maria: No, I'll do it.

TVGO: Great. Kevin?
Maria: I would say probably an eight.

TVGO: Raj?
Maria: Probably an eight.

TVGO: John?
Maria: Probably a seven.

TVGO: Chris?
Maria: Probably a seven.

TVGO: Bradford?
Maria: Probably a six.

TVGO: Ouch. Wuss, er, I mean Wes?
Maria: Definitely a seven.

TVGO: Andy?
Maria: Definitely a five.

TVGO: Yikes! And last but not least, Rob?
Maria: Probably a six. What about Kelly?

TVGO: Oh, right. Kelly?
Maria: Probably a seven.

TVGO: Great! Thanks for playing!
Maria: No problem.