Hanging up the phone, Alfred and Eric, the father and the son of the Smiths, looked at each other and then almost spoke at the same time.
In the utmost panic, Eric said, “Something happened at the company.”
Alfred said, “I know. I just heard our energy project approval failed.”
“How is that possible? When we drank with the head of the energy department yesterday, didn’t he say that the internal review had passed? And we were just waiting for the public announcement and the issuance of the license in a few days? Why did it fail all of a sudden?”
The Smiths had spent tens of millions on greasing the wheels for their energy project. Including the initial investment, half of the Smith was staked on this project. If the approval fails, all the money, time, and investment previously spent w
