Can you screw up a hint for Ackroyd?

[Space Cowboy]

So, I got almost everything but the last hint for Ackroyd (the one in the middle). And I got the one after missing ingrediences and the one from the warning letter.
I read up a few walkthroughs but non mentions that you can screw up a hint for him.

[Nici]

I know this is a very late reply, but I had this same issue on Xbox One:

There is a letter in Dr. Swansea's office that you can pick up at the same time as the warning letter. It is labeled as "Note to Dr. Swansea" and talks about how Ackroyd is not ready for a promotion.

This note was bugged for me. If you haven't picked it up, make sure you do. Even if you already have, re-read it in your inventory, as it didn't register for me until I manually read it from the quest items screen. Then you should be able to speak to Ackroyd about it.