Mrs. Weiss opened the door and gestured him in. She offered the applicant a hesitant smile.

Matthew nervously smiled back to the older woman before entering.

The man behind the desk glanced up, his hard brown eyes the first thing Matthew noticed.

Taking in a shaking breath, Matthew bowed. And then cursed himself for bowing.

Leaning forward with the smooth precision of a machine, Mr. Yang clasped his hands together, his intense stare studying him. His suit, perfectly-fitted and smooth, looked as though it had just come off a store mannequin. "You're my next applicant?"

 Matthew straightened up and found himself staring. He blinked, shook his head, and said, "Unfortunately, yes."

"Hm." Mr. Yang's eyes moved slowly over him before calling, "Deborah?"

The door opened behind him. "Yes, sir?"

He stood, paper in hand. "Mr. Robinson, I'm afraid Mrs. Weiss has made a grave error concerning the application process." The man pushed back and, with careful steps, crossed around the desk. "You see, I've stipulated that, for my children's caretaker, that the applicant be female."

Matthew blinked, momentarily distracted by the older man's slippers, decorated in stickers and markers and what he could only describe as “witch symbols”. When he re-met the older man's hard stare, Matthew found it harder to keep his eyes fixed on him. "...wait, what?"

"Would you give us the room for a moment please, Mr. Robinson?" he asked, glare undiminished.

His breath hitched in his throat. "Y-yes, sir." He beelined for the living room, only to sigh in partial relief and frustration. 'Only you,' he thought, shaking his head.

"Mr. Yang," Mrs. Weiss began, "all the previous nannies you've hired have been female, but have been utter disasters. With his experience –" The office door closed.

The slight rise in the two's voices from Mr. Yang's office didn't help his nerves.