As Matthew brought the phone to his ear, Liza shouted, "I'm not fighting you about the steak knives again, Robinson!"

Coughing to hide his laugh, Matthew turned away from her. "Hello?"

"Is this Mr. Robinson?"

"Speaking."

"This is Jun Yang. I interviewed you a few weeks ago concerning a nanny position?"

He sat up. His breath hitched in his throat. "Mr. Yang?"

Liza shot him a look. "That fucking bastard. Hang up."

"Have I caught you at a bad time?" Mr. Yang asked. "Something about steak knives?"

"No, no," he insisted, rising to his feet. "It's just my roommate."

"Hang up," she hissed, reaching for the phone.

Matthew put his hand over her face, pushing her towards the television. "H-how can I help you, sir?"

"I saw that you had reapplied for the nanny position. Is that correct?"

He nodded, only to cringe upon realizing Mr. Yang couldn't see it. "Yes, sir. I did."

"...despite my preference for a female nanny?"

Matthew tsked himself. "It was mostly a ruse to see Elliot's voodoo doll of me." His stomach immediately leaped into his throat. Turning away, he whispered, "Whyyyyyy?"

"Hang up," Liza whispered, climbing over the coffee table.

Matthew moved behind the couch and backed into the kitchen. "Sorry. Yes, I, I did reapply for the position."

The man on the other end audibly took in a breath. “I...don't understand. Have I not made myself clear?”

“No, no – I-I mean, yes, you did,” he spluttered. His path to safety – Toby's room – was immediately blocked by Liza.

“Yet you...still applied?”

“I – ” Matthew pulled his phone away from his ear, covering the mouthpiece. “Liza, stop. This is so unprofessional.”

“I have words to say at him, Matt!”

“Mr. Robinson?”

“Liz – ” He returned to the call. “Y-yes, I'm still here.”

“...have I caught you at a bad time?”

“No, no, I – ” Matthew swatted her, hissing. “ – promise this is a good time.”

“Give me the phone,” Liza whispered.

“I-it was, I wanted to know how the children were getting on since I last saw them.” He reminded himself to not say 'voodoo'.

"Hm." The pause was drawn out, and Matthew, for a moment, wondered if he had hung up. Checking his phone proved Mr. Yang hadn't. "Would you be willing to come in for a second interview, as well as a potential 'field study assessment'?"

That sounded more promising than anything he'd heard all year from an employer. "Y-yes, of, of course." He started swatting Liza, mouthing her to stop.

She climbed over the back of the couch.

"Wonderful. Shall we schedule it for...this coming Tuesday, say, 1:00?"

"Yep. Yep. Perfect. Tuesday at 1. Thank you so much." Pulling his ear away from the phone, he snapped, "Liza, back off."

"Hang up," she muttered again.

"Good. I'll see you then." And the line went dead.

Snapping his phone shut, Matthew swatted her with both hands. "What is wrong with you?"

"How dare you, sleeping with the enemy."

"He just offered me a second interview, and if I land that, I can begin paying you back." Upon sinking in her words, however, Matthew felt his ears grow hot.

Liza paused, taking in the comment slowly. "This pleases me."

Exhaling, Matthew patted her head, which she immediately swatted away. "You know, one – for one day, can you, just, be...not so exhausting to deal with?"

She beamed, turning. "Never."

Slipping his phone into his pocket, a smile crept onto Matthew's face, though it felt unearned. A dull jolt of pain shot down his left arm, lingering in his fingers. Plopping back in his nest of blankets, he re-wrapped himself and pressed PLAY on the DVD player.