Of Love and Corn Dogs (6 page)

“Slow down. You're going to get sick, and I'm the one who has to clean it up,” Ricky admonished. Of course, Merlin ignored him completely. Ricky chuckled and went to sit down in the overstuffed chair he'd gotten at the thrift store. A little threadbare in places, but it still was his favorite. The fabric, with its muted blue and white checks, reminded him of the one his mom used to have when he was a kid. He pulled his legs up under him and grabbed the mail. Bills. Bills. Coupons. More bills. He sighed and tossed the stack back onto the table.

When the kitten finished his food, he loped over to Ricky, leapt up onto his leg, then climbed onto his chest, where he curled into a ball and made himself comfortable. Ricky stroked the kitten, delighting in the loud purr that emanated from the mound of fluff.

“Can I tell you about Darwin now?” Ricky whispered, rubbing the kitten between the ears. Merlin glanced up and yawned. “I'm going to take that as a yes, because I need to tell someone, and it's too late to call Trish.”

His sister would be over the moon when he told her he'd met someone he liked. She'd always pushed him to get out and meet people, reminding him he'd never find a boyfriend if he holed up in his apartment alone. When he protested he wasn't alone, she told him Merlin didn't count.

“She was wrong,” he said. “You're very important to me.”

Merlin looked up and bumped his head against Ricky's chin, a gesture that always made Ricky smile.

“So, his name is Darwin. An interesting name, right? Don't find many of those around. He's between thirty and thirty-five, with dark hair, brown eyes, and a cute pug nose. His ears jut out just a little, but that adds to his personality, I think. He's different from the rest of the guys I've met. He's…sweet.”

When Merlin started kneading Ricky's chest with those tiny claws of doom, Ricky decided the cat was implying they should get some sleep, though more likely he wanted additional food. Either way, Ricky was wrung out. He put the kitten on the floor and made his way to the bedroom. He stripped off his shirt, which he tossed into the hamper as he passed by the bathroom. After removing his shoes, socks, and pants, he crawled into the bed, allowing the soft, lumpy mattress to envelop him. He waited a few moments, then felt the tug on the blanket as Merlin made his way onto the bed and settled on Ricky's pillow.

“Good night, boy,” Ricky said quietly, before he drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

Darwin glanced at his watch and suppressed a groan. He told Heather to schedule his brother, but eight a.m. on a Monday? Maybe this had been revenge for making her reschedule. Or maybe Kent hadn't been able to come the previous week. At least they'd agreed to meet at Kincade, so Darwin didn't have to travel. Though when he'd walked into the building and found Kent's group waiting and looking none too happy about it, he'd known it would be a very long day.

Kent had been droning on for an hour, talking about how his company's product would revolutionize not only individual houses around the world, but whole cities. Darwin loved his brother, but the man had made and lost several fortunes, starting with his inheritance, whenever something shiny attracted his attention. He'd throw money, hand over fist, at any new adventure. On occasion, his enthusiasm worked out, and Kent reaped enormous profits, but more often than not, his brother could have tossed his money into a pit then covered it with manure and been better off.

At thirty-six, Kent was the older brother by three years, but he certainly didn't look it. With his dark hair and deep brown eyes, people often mistook them for twins instead of simply siblings. Growing up, his brother had always been a doer, always chasing the next big thing. He'd excelled in school, and they'd both thought he'd inherit the family business when their parents died. Darwin had no idea which of them was more surprised when their parents had named Darwin CEO instead of Kent at their father's retirement party.

“So what you're telling me is that I have to bail you out,” Darwin finally said as Kent wound down his presentation.

The members of the KK Enterprises board turned to one another and began to whisper, occasionally glancing between Kent and Darwin. A few of them straightened their paperwork nervously. Darwin's stomach knotted at the thought of being in this position. He dreaded telling Kent no, because he felt certain their relationship wouldn't survive. So far though, nothing in Kent's presentation had swayed Darwin's opinion. The fact that his own board had told him they'd back whatever decision he made hadn't helped in the least. But as always, the buck stopped with him, and he wouldn't risk Kincade International or the wellbeing of his employees on guilt of potentially widening the rift that existed between Darwin and his sibling.

“Well, no, not bail us out,” Kent replied, scratching his head. “More like invest in our company. It will help keep everyone employed while we work to develop this product.”

As he scrubbed a hand across his face, Darwin tried to figure out what he would tell his brother. The product he pushed seemed like crap—putting it nicely. While making their products more environmentally friendly had been something he stressed at Kincade, Kent's idea involved a composting garbage disposal. On the surface, it did seem like a viable product, but further study showed that unlike other companies that had invested considerable time and effort into making and marketing their product, the people Kent had gotten involved with had cut too many corners, making the product cheap and unreliable.

“How much did you spend on this?” Darwin asked.

“That's 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.

“I'm sorry, Kent. I'm afraid we're going to have to say no.”

Kent's expression spoke volumes—hurt, anger, and pain.

“Can 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.

“So 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.”

“Because 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, then he stepped back, his excitement plain to see. “You don't know what this means. We can make this work. I know we can. I have an incredible team behind me, and they all say the same thing: Gen-tech has a great product, but they mothballed it and never looked beyond their own ideas for it. Our plans are to take it in a different direction. Make it something viable and, hopefully, moneymaking.”

His brother's expression told Darwin he had another idea for the disposal beyond what his plans called for. He had a moment of panic as he thought about how Kent might have played him, but he didn't think so. He had never seen Kent this excited about a project. In fact, this Kent seemed…different. More sure of himself, but still more comfortable in his skin than Darwin remembered. Maybe he would be throwing good money after bad, but he wanted to trust Kent.

“I'll get Heather to have legal draw up the contracts,” Darwin said, the words heavy from his mouth. “Remember, this is a one-time investment. I don't know how you're going to pull off this miracle, but I hope to hell it works out for you.”

“It will,” Kent promised. “When we announce it to the press, I want you there with me. Without you, none of this would be possible. Thank you isn't strong enough to show our appreciation.” Then he paused, dropped his head, and placed his hands on the conference table. Darwin took a seat next to him and watched as Kent slid his fingers across the polished surface. “Dee, do you want to take over the company? I know I said you could, and if you want it, then it's yours.”

His brother used to call him Dee when they were kids, but he hadn't done it in years. Kent continued to surprise him. Before Kent had started KK Enterprises, the two of them had fallen out over their parents naming Darwin successor of the company, and other than giving him what amounted to a severance package, they'd basically left Kent out in the cold. Darwin had tried to talk to him on numerous occasions, to explain he'd known nothing about their plan and would be glad to name them co-owners, but his brother's stubborn attitude had made conversation impossible.

Then came the day Kent had announced he'd started a new company. Darwin's pride had been overshadowed by the fact Kent had showed up at his door looking for skilled personnel. He'd demanded Darwin allow him to speak to the employees, so they could decide which Kincade they wanted to work for. Kent had argued he should be allowed the opportunity since their parents had forced him to start over on his own.

Darwin had fumed at the outrageous request. He'd told Kent in no uncertain terms that he didn't have a legal leg to stand on, and that he would not allow him to speak with the employees. Kent's anger had been a sight to behold. Before Darwin could call security to have him removed, Kent had stormed off, vowing to never speak to Darwin again. The thought he'd lost his brother caused Darwin's heart to ache, but he knew he'd done nothing to warrant Kent's anger.

Six months later, Kent had been arrested for drunk driving, and he'd called Darwin to bail him out. He'd talked about the situation with Dean, who'd told him that he should see the call as Kent's olive branch, an opportunity to start mending their fences. Grudgingly, Darwin had gone.

That had started the new phase of their relationship. Kent had told him he no longer wanted to be a part of Kincade International. He'd insisted he understood why their parents had named Darwin as their successor instead of him, and that he wanted to become his own man, free of the shadow of their shared name. While Darwin had wanted to protest that Kent's name had opened the door for him to start his own company, he'd bit his tongue and stayed silent.

Their relationship had thawed after that, though it had never returned to what they'd had as kids when Kent had accepted with dignity, if not outright acceptance, his younger brother tagging along everywhere. But, at least now they talked on occasion.

For Kent to stand there today and offer his company to Darwin proved one thing: the man before him was
not
the same guy who had been so distant for so many years.

“No, I don't want to take over your company. It's your life's work, and I love seeing you passionate about this, especially the part where you're going to take care of your people first.”

Kent ducked his head slightly, then slid into one of the chairs at the meeting table. “I understand now, you know,” he said softly. “For you, it's always been about the people. For me, it's been the profit at any cost. Making myself look good, even though others were doing the work. It's why Mom and Dad left the family business to you, because you shared their vision. I didn't. I've been a real asshole to you, and I hope you'll be able to forgive me one day.”