Robert steps out of the office, determined to get a handle on the Megan situation. Going straight up the stairs, he finds her standing in the bunk bed room, staring at the wall.
"Hello Megan." He says. "You doing ok?"
She jumps a bit at the noise, and turns quickly, looking almost panicked. Seeing Robert, she swallows hard, and quietly says. "No."
"I think you and I should talk." Robert says. "Do you mind going for a walk with me? I could use an opportunity to stretch my legs."
Megan nods, and says. "I need a jacket, and some warmer pants."
"You can borrow some of mine." Robert says, and leads her to his closet, helping her pick out some warm gear. "Before we go outside, I need to tell you a few things. First, one of the new BAA rules is that you have to wear a collar, and have your card on you, when you leave the house. We have some temporary ones downstairs we can use for now, but eventually I'd like to get you all some that are comfortable, like I was able to get for Lucia and Alexia."
"Can't I just use theirs?" Megan asks.
"I don't think you are in a position to ask either of them for a favor right now." Robert replies honestly. "They are also sized for them, and engraved with their information. We won't be out that long, and I won't put it on tightly."
Robert grimaces, and continues. "The other thing I want you to know before we step outside is that if you run, I'm legally required to report it, and I lose all say in what happens to you. The punishment for running away starts with a mandatory 90 day stay in a labor camp, and can also include corporal punishment. If you act up there, you could have that 90 days extended, and there is a decent chance you will be kept there permanently. I need you to promise me that you aren't going to run and that you aren't going to talk to anyone except me without my permission."
"I promise." Megan says, looking down at the floor.
"I'd appreciate it if you could look at me, and say that again." Robert says. "Eye contact during conversations like this is very important to me."
Megan looks up at him, and he thinks he sees just the faintest touch of anger in her face before she smiles and says. "I promise."
Robert nods, and they make their way downstairs. "We are headed out for a walk." Robert says. "We'll be back in thirty minutes or so."
Grabbing one of the temporary collars near the door, he secures it loosely on Megan, and opens the door. "Ladies first."
Jane sighs as the door shuts, and says. "Who wants a quick tour of the house?"
Mei, Taylor, and Emily immediately say yes.
Reyna hesitates and asks. "Should I follow them? I'm not interested in losing Robert when I just found him."
"Robert will be fine." Jane says. "I know he looks like an out of shape middle aged office worker, but before he became that, he was a prison guard for a few years."
"Really?" Lucia asks, looking surprised.
"He took whatever job paid the bills when he was younger." Jane says. "Ask him about it some day. Between working two jobs at once half of the time, and being laid off repeatedly, he got a lot of varied experience his first few years after graduating high school."
"If you are sure he will be ok, I'd like to do the tour also." Reyna says.
"Amber, do you want to invite Lindsey to join us, if she is up?" Jane asks.
Amber heads upstairs, coming back with Lindsey. Jane walks the new girls through the downstairs first, explaining to them to knock and wait for permission before entering her or Robert's office, or their bedroom when the door is closed. After giving the upstairs tour, Emily asks. "So we are all sleeping in the room with the bunk beds?"
"Some days." Jane says. "If you wish to sleep in one of those every night, you certainly can. We may invite some of you to join us in the master bedroom at times, and there may be other days I want to snuggle with Alexia in the second bedroom, and Robert may ask a few of you to join him. He is a cuddle monster though, so if that's not your thing, make sure to bring someone else who can keep him busy."
Reyna asks. "So I just want to make sure I have this right. You and Robert are married, and Lucia is his primary girlfriend, and Alexia is your primary girlfriend? What about Amber?"
Jane laughs. "You were busy with Robert, so you missed the explanations earlier. Robert and I have been married for about twelve years. Alexia is my special girl, but she also plays with Robert just as often as me, and sometimes with both of us together. Lucia is all about Robert, and that's fine. Not everyone is bi, and we are both big on consent. Amber only came to us a few days ago, but we already adore her. She needs some time to recover physically and emotionally from her last relationship, so we aren't bringing her into the bedroom just yet."
Reyna blushes. "I didn't think to ask about your boundaries for Robert. If you have any, I may have trampled all over them."
"Robert wouldn't have let you." Jane says. "Robert and I were polyamorous before all of this started. The crazy woman at the auction used to be our girlfriend and submissive, until we found out she had been cheating us on for nearly our entire relationship, while taking advantage of our generosity and love. Our boundaries really are that you don't do anything sexually with anyone outside of the house. Robert will probably fall in love with some of you, if you let him, and I think that's great. Just don't hurt him, because if you do, you'll have at least two very angry women to deal with, one of whom cooks your food."
"Understood." Reyna says. "I can definitely see the love thing, he's very passionate. I don't think he stopped holding me until after Taylor was done."
"He didn't." Taylor says. "But you were practically wrapped around him, to be fair."
Lindsey looks both uncomfortable, and sad, hearing about this. "Ladies, feel free to explore anywhere except the two primary bedrooms. If you want to explore those, ask Lucia or Alexia to go with you. Lindsey, do you mind if you and I talk?"
Lindsey shakes her head, and Jane leads her to the double recliner in the hangout room, and closes the door. "Are you ok?" Jane asks. "I mean, as ok as you can reasonably be expected to be."
Lindsey swallows hard, and says. "I don't know. You guys are great, but I really miss my husband."
"If there is anything I can do to help, please tell me." Jane says. "I don't think I would survive without Robert after all these years together. I can't say I know what you are going through, but I can imagine it, and that's bad enough."
"Thank you." Lindsey says. "Are you a hugger?"
"I can leave it or take it, but if you need one, I'm happy to." Jane says, leaning over and embracing her. "Robert is the real hugger, and if you ever build a friendship with him, I'm sure he would be happy to make sure you are thoroughly hugged daily, platonically, of course."
Lindsey cries into her shoulder for a bit while Jane soothes her. "I'm sorry. I know this isn't what you need right now."
"It's what you need." Jane says. "Everyone in this house is a human being, and deserves to be treated decently."
"Thank you." Lindsey sobs. Jane just keeps rubbing her back, and tries to think of something, anything, that will help Lindsey.
Robert and Megan are silent until they hit the sidewalk outside of the house. "Why don't you tell me about what happened earlier?" Robert asks.
"What?" Megan asks innocently, acting like she doesn't know what Robert is talking about.
Robert stops walking for a moment. "This isn't going to work unless you are honest with me. Several of the girls apparently had interactions with you that didn't go well. I need you to tell me what happened, from your point of view, and why it happened." He says, and adds. "Please, do not lie to me."
"Today has been a bit of a blur." Megan begins. "Can I start at the beginning of the day?"
"You may." Robert says, and then begins walking again.
"We got led into that room without even knowing why we were there. It wasn't until you and Jane showed up that we figured out that it was an auction." Megan explains. "Every person that interviewed me other than you basically said they wanted to sexually abuse me. Some of them had creative terms for it, but it was bad. I'm sure you can understand that having a dozen nasty dudes tell you one after the next how they plan to rape you isn't exactly conducive to a good frame of mind."
"I can, and that's why I'm talking to you now, and giving you a chance to explain yourself." Robert says. "I don't care about excuses, but context and reasons do matter."
"Thank you." Megan says. "By the time we got home, I was in an awful mood, and I was really overwhelmed. I snapped a few times."
"If you are overwhelmed in the future, you have to have some sort of signal to let us know." Robert says. "Then we can give you space to decompress. Shutting down or snapping just makes things worse."
"I understand." Megan says. "I'm sorry."
"What about the Mei thing?" Robert says. "I saw her shoulder, she must have hit the wall with some force."
"I didn't mean to, we bumped into each other while I was rushing into the shower." Megan says. "Total accident."
Robert sighs. "I've heard it looked intentional."
"I promise, it was an accident." Megan says, trying and failing to sound sweet and innocent. "I'm sorry."
"Megan, do you actually want to be here? Or would you rather go back to the auction? I can't set you free." Robert says. "So here, another household, or a work camp are the only options I can give you."
"Please, don't send me back." Megan says. "I can't live with those guys."
"Then you need to make the best of this." Robert says. "What happened earlier today can't happen again. Everyone in my house needs to feel safe, comfortable, and happy. If one person causes problems for everyone else, eventually they will have to go. Do you understand?"
"Yes." Megan says.
"So when we get back, how are you going to attempt to start repairing the bad first impression you have made on the other ladies in the house?" Robert asks.
"I can be nicer to them." Megan says. "And if you want, I can do things for you tonight."
"That's not happening." Robert says bluntly. "I need to see you interacting well with everyone in the house before I can even consider allowing you into my bed. I know you have had a bad day, so I'll be blunt. When we get back, you are going to ask Jane and Mei to speak to them privately. You are going to apologize to both of them. I'm going to be there to make sure I'm happy with the apologies. Can you do that?"
"Yes." Megan says.
"Good." Robert says. "After that, you are going to be nicer, not just tonight, but every day, from now on. If you are having a bad day, you let us know, and we will give you some time. Believe it or not, you didn't have the worst day out of everyone in the house. Lindsey lost her husband after all."
"I didn't know that." Megan says, a bit defensively. "I'll do better."
They reach the end of the neighborhood, and start back, Robert noticing a few neighbors staring at them as they do. "A few more things. You will do EXACTLY what Jane says. And what Lucia, Alexia, and Amber say too. You will obey them as if I was saying it, do you understand?"
"Yes, sir." Megan says, looking at the pavement as she walks.