You are considering the purchase of an investment that would pay you $10,000 per year for Years 1 and 2, $8,000 per year for Years 3 and 4, and $6,000 per year for Years 5 and 6. If you require a 15 percent rate of return, and the cash flows occur at the end of each year, how much would you be willing to pay for this investment? In other words, what is the NPV of these cash flows?

a. $22,223 b. $31,668 c. $35,942 d. $36,419 e. some other number