Of Love and Corn Dogs by Parker Williams

the great thing. I got in for only one point three million dollars. This thing will be worth a hundred times that.”
    Darwin groaned and slumped in his chair. He couldn’t believe Kent’s board would actually go along with this idea. He took a moment to look around the table, the expectant faces staring at him. Eight men and two women surrounded the large oval table, with Darwin at one end and the rest of them huddled on the other side. The fact that his brother stood in front of him, and with the backing of his board, pitched an idea that would never work viably made Darwin wonder how much trouble they were actually in.
    â€œI’m sorry, Kent. I’m afraid we’re going to have to say no.”
    Kent’s expression spoke volumes—hurt, anger, and pain.
    â€œCan you excuse us, people?” Kent asked his board members. They stood, gathered their papers, and shuffled out of the room. Darwin could hear their murmured words as they passed by—he was arrogant, cared for no one but himself, how could he turn his brother away—but their condemnation didn’t change the facts. The decision hadn’t been personal. He’d always given Kent anything he’d asked for.
    Kent should have been running the family corporation. He studied hard, got good grades, but then it all went downhill fast after he fell in with some friends who were only interested in having a good time. That started the problems between their family, which finally culminated in Darwin being named CEO. When he’d taken the reins, Darwin had known next to nothing. He’d depended heavily on his staff to teach him day-to-day operations. Kent wouldn’t have needed to do that. But his brother hadn’t been given the company, Darwin had.
    â€œSo you’re just going to say no, huh?” Kent demanded as he stormed across the room, coming to a stop at the large picture window that gave a magnificent view of Lake Michigan. “You aren’t even going to look at the proposal?”
    Darwin sighed. “I did. I went through everything you sent me with a fine-toothed comb. On paper, the concept sounds amazing, but the company’s track record speaks for itself. They’re not developing the product as they claimed. They’re looking for a sucker to take it off their hands, and you walked in and gave them exactly what they needed.”
    â€œBecause I can make something of it,” Kent promised. “Their idea is sound, but I know they gave up on it too early. I want to take this and make something out of it. My R & D team tells me that with a few changes, they can turn it into something that will have a huge impact on companies and communities that are struggling to be more green. To do that, we—I—need your help.” Kent paused for a minute, resting his head against the glass. He took a deep breath, turned around, and said, “Take over my company, become chairman, whatever, but we need this project to keep our people employed. I’ll step down or do something else, but don’t hurt them. They’ve worked so hard on this, and they’re so close to perfecting it.”
    Over the years, Kent had given many impassioned speeches, but the words were always about how it would impact him—how he could do something and make it better. This Kent? Darwin couldn’t be sure he’d ever met this man. He’d known his brother long enough to be sure of his sincerity, and that made his next words easy to say.
    Darwin sucked in a deep breath, stood, and leveled his gaze at Kent. “I’ll give you one year. We’ll give KK Enterprises an injection of funds once, and, Kent, be sure you understand this will be the only time. I’m not going to ask you to give up on this fool’s errand, but if you’re serious about keeping your company afloat, this isn’t the way to do it.”
    Kent rushed toward Darwin and hugged him tightly for a moment,