Jeff decided to dive into the details. “Well, I hate to do this, but I think it's time we talked about the balance sheet and the longer-term financials of the company.”

Bob nodded a little sheepishly and reached for something in his computer bag. “I think I've brought most of what you need.”

Knowing his uncle well, Jeff was starting to feel like something wasn't right. He probed. “Based on everything I've seen so far, I'm guessing the company's in pretty good shape.” It was more of a question than a statement.

Bob smiled, the same way he used to smile when he assured the kids he wouldn't throw them in the deep end of the pool just before he did exactly that. “Absolutely.” He didn't sound confident. “But I need to talk to you about some new challenges and opportunities.”

As concerned as he was, Jeff laughed out loud. “I don't think I like the sound of this.”

“Oh, you'll be fine. This is just how the industry works.”

The waitress brought Jeff's beer and Bob's water.

“So what kind of challenges and opportunities are we talking about?” Jeff asked.

Bob stopped rifling through his bag and looked Jeff in the eye with a bizarre mix of excitement and worry.

“Jeff, we just landed two great projects.”

He paused to let his nephew take in the information, and then continued.

“It's very exciting. The Queen of the Valley Hospital project, which I mentioned to you a few weeks ago, came through on Monday. And I signed the papers yesterday morning for the new hotel project in St. Helena.” He paused and seemed to force a big smile. “We're going to build both of them.”

Jeff was confused. “That's good news, right?”

“It's fantastic news,” Bob answered, in a tone that was something less than fantastic.

“When was the last time we had two projects like that on the books at the same time?” Jeff was more than a little curious to know.

Bob hesitated, looking down at his glass of water for a moment and back up at Jeff. “That's the thing. We've never had two major projects like this at the same time.” He paused. “In fact, both of these are as big as anything we've ever done.”

Any semblance of a smile that had remained on Jeff's face disappeared. As overwhelmed as he was, he had yet to receive the worst news of all.