Funny, funny, funny, what money can do?

It took Kim a solid minute to process the fact that Vivian had walked into her store. It just didn’t make sense! Why would someone like Vivian- a woman who no-doubt had a massive amount of clothes in her wardrobe, and no need to change anything due to a lack of physical transformations- come to the Boutique?

On her first day?

In the time Kim spent processing this new information, Vivian had already walked past the counter and was headed deeper into the shop. That’s what snapped her out of her fugue, and she quickly called after the heiress.

“H-hey! Where are you going!?” She exclaimed, abandoning her post to chase after her.

“Just looking at what you have in stock, that’s all,” Vivian replied with a bored note to her voice. “Honestly though, I’m not that impressed.”

Kim’s eye twitched. Although it was insane to feel any sort of pride in a job that she frankly loathed, the fact that Vivian was talking shit about it irritated her.

“Oh? Do we not meet the standard of quality for someone of your discerning taste?” Kim knew she was on the job, and that part of being a good employee was making sure not to let her petty spite and bitterness get in the way of customer service. Because of that, she was trying very hard to keep the bile out of her voice.

But even with her experience attending to the worst Karens in the world, she couldn’t fully manage to keep her emotions in check.

Vivian didn’t take the bait though. She stared at Kim down the rim of her sunglasses, and the corners of her lips turned up in the smallest of smirks.

Kim took a deep breath to calm herself down, and exhaled.

I’m not going to let her get to me, she promised herself.

Then, putting all of her skills in customer service to use, she **** a winning smile onto her face, clenching her fists to do it.

“I’m sorry the selection we have available isn’t to your liking!” She said instead, tilting her head to the side. She was aware how fake her voice came across, but really, she didn’t care. She was already smiling for Vivian’s sake; a faked voice like this? Well, the heiress would just have to deal with it, this was the best she could do. “Are you sure there’s nothing that interests you?”

“Oh, there are some things that interest me alright,” Vivian assured her with a nod, finally responding to Kim. “And it’s not like the quality is lacking or anything like that.” She scanned the walls and shelves of the store with an appraising gaze. “No, it’s more like… you’ve got quite a lot of fetish products on display, don’t you?”

“…This is that kind of show, obviously,” Kim bluntly replied. She was so stunned by the nature of Vivian’s objection that she just said the first thing that came to mind- that Vivian really shouldn’t have expected anything less than this.

“I know, obviously,” the heiress chortled, shaking her head. “That’s been made perfectly clear to me that this is a sex show.”

She stretched her arms over her head. “For me, though, I prefer my designs to be a bit more on the stylish side than slutty.”

Vivian glanced over at Kim, and though the clerk couldn’t see the brunette’s eyes, she knew that the snobbish rich girl was definitely looking down on her for her clothes.

“…This is my uniform,” Kim said, covering her exposed chest with her arms. “It’s not like I’m wearing these because I want to or anything! I just don’t see a problem with it!”

“Really? No problem at all? Walking around in your underwear?” Vivian couldn’t help but laugh in amusement at the sound of that. “Well, I’ve worked with a few supermodels in my job, and I’ve gotta say, they’re a lot more modest about strutting about in their skivvies than you are, luv.”

Kim’s face got even hotter. She was trying to restrain her temper, she really was. But here was a woman who did nothing but look down her nose at her!

“Listen!” She snapped, discarding the mask of customer service she’d been forcing herself to wear. “You don’t know anything about me! I’m not working here because I want to be! It’s my job! That’s what people do when they don’t have a lifetime of luxury like you, you trustfund toddler! They get jobs! I don’t care if I’m on the clock right now, I’m not going to just sit back and let you make a mockery out of me, you got that!?”

“Whoa! Hey! Take it easy!” Vivian took a step back and held up her hands. “I wasn’t trying to start anything with you! I was just making a comment! But hey, if I hurt your feelings, I’m sorry. That wasn’t what I meant to do.”

“Oh, yeah, I’m sure you feel SOOOO sorry for me,” Kim sneered. “That’s not an apology, that’s just your pity for my situation.”

“Pity? Why would I pity you?” Vivian shook her head. “You think I don’t know what it’s like to take pride in your work?”

Kim snorted incredulously.

The smile slid off of Vivian’s face.

“…Look. I get it. You don’t like me very much, because I was raised with a silver spoon in my mouth. What, you expect me to feel bad about that?” The heiress crossed her arms over her chest and approached Kim, taking off her sunglasses and tucking them into the pocket of her vest. “I’ve met all kinds of envious people who look down on me, thinking I’ve been handed everything all my life.”

“You have been,” Kim bluntly replied. “And don’t give me that ‘I had to work hard to get my clothing brand off the ground’ BS because you and I both know that’s bullshit. If I was in your position, I wouldn’t be able to achieve a tenth of what you did, even if I was just as talented at clothing design as you are. You got to take advantage of your family’s money and reputation. Probably your parents’ connections as well. You didn’t build anything from the ground up. You were born on third base, and the umpire was looking the other way while you ambled your way to home plate. THAT is the nature of your success, and it has nothing to do with any ‘talent’ you might have.”

Vivian blinked. Her jaw dropped in shock, which made Kim smile smugly, very proud of herself for taking the rich girl down a peg.

But the momentary shock was just that- momentary. After a few seconds, Vivian regained her composure, and shrugged her shoulders.

“…Yeah. I built my success using the connections I fostered from my family connections. My starting capital was funded by a loan from my parents. I’m not going to deny that,” she replied, shaking her head.

Kim let out another snort and rolled her eyes.

“But so what?”

Kim nearly fell over she was so taken aback.

“S-so what?!”

Vivian shrugged. “Yeah. I started with advantages. Am I supposed to beat myself up over that? Feel guilty? Yeah, I’m not gonna deny, it sucks that I was born with advantages that other people never had the chance to get. But that doesn’t mean I don’t deserve to follow my dreams as well, you know.” She narrowed her eyes. “Ever since I was a kid, I’ve always wanted to be a designer. My parents would buy me these fancy dresses, and some of them I just adored. But others I hated. I would use scissors to cut them up and turn them into dresses I actually wanted to wear. And I realized that was what I wanted to do with my life. Are you saying I don’t have the right to make my dreams come true just because I was born into money?”

Kim’s face burned. “That… I mean, that’s not what I meant… it’s just…”

“Look, I get you resent people like me. But I’m still a person. I’m following my dreams. And just because it’s easier to achieve my dreams than the average person, that doesn’t mean I’ve done anything wrong. It doesn’t make me a bad person, does it?” Vivian prodded.

“W-well… what about the sweatshops?!” Kim demanded. “I used to make your products! And I hated every minute of it!”

“You worked in a sweatshop in the United States?” Vivian raised her eyebrow. “Aren’t you just being the teensiest bit dramatic?”

Kim scowled. Okay, so maybe a sweatshop wasn’t the best way to describe it. And technically, it wasn’t a legally-endorsed job by the company, anyway.

“…Well, we were actually making brand knockoffs,” Kim admitted. She hung her head. “Sorry.”

Vivian snorted and rolled her eyes.

“…But I know you still have sweatshop workers!” Kim snapped. “And that’s unethical.”

“Agreed. But it’s also the way the system works,” Vivian replied. “It’s not like I’m personally overseeing the working conditions of all people making my clothes. I only have so much power you know. It’s important to build a product that can be sold on the market. If we increased operating costs to the point the company went out of business, then that would result in even more people losing their jobs. And it wouldn’t change anything. Those sweatshop workers would just be put to work making something else. Unless you’re blaming me for not being able to change the working conditions of other countries, and improving the economic situation of the entire world?”

She crossed her arms over her chest to punctuate her statement.

Kim felt a little humiliated, being talked down to like this. She knew that she was right, and that Vivian was profiting off of the suffering of other people. But at the same time, she couldn’t deny the points Vivian raised, either. Was the heiress supposed to kick down the door of every sweatshop in China and demand they start implementing more humane policies? Of course not, that would be ridiculous, she was in her 20s.

Vivian may have been rich, but she wasn’t any more equipped to solve the economic disparities in the world than Kim was.

Even if she was profiting off of them.

“When I started my brand, it wasn’t a big thing,” Vivian pointed out. “I showed off my styles to my followers on social media, and built my brand that way. Yeah, then I went all corporate, and we began mass-producing my designs, but that’s the result of supply and demand. I can’t control the entire economy, and I think you know that.”

Kim nodded sadly. She knew that, alright.

Vivian sighed. “…This really wasn’t how I wanted this conversation to go, you know,” she said, shaking her head. “I just wanted to do a little light teasing about all the sexy costumes you guys have on sale here.”

She patted Kim on the shoulder. “Look. I’m not the monster you’ve built me up to be. Sorry I can’t do more to make things better for people, and yeah, I realize that I’ve made a profit off exploiting other people. But I’m also working hard to improve things. I’m sure you haven’t looked at all the charities I’ve donated to, right? I don’t even take a salary as CEO. I invest that money back into the company. All this stuff is up on my Wikipedia page, you know. Have you even taken a look?”

Again, this was news to Kim. She may have gone a little too hard on the hate train. And while Vivian certainly could have been doing more, Kim didn’t see anything productive coming out of telling her that to her face. It sounded so hollow.

“Last summer, I invested in rebuilding an entire town in Africa, making sure they had access to clean drinking water and stable housing, and-”

“Okay, okay, I get it! I’m sorry!” Kim groaned, pulling away from her and rubbing her forehead in frustration. “Look… I’ll admit that I was a little bit wrong about you. But there was still some stuff I was right about, too.”

“Fair enough,” Vivian admitted. “But I don’t care about your opinion of how I run my company. The way I see it, you’re free to feel however you want. I’m not the kind of girl who demands people print retractions, I let my actions speak for me.”

She narrowed her eyes and her lips dipped into a scowl.

“But you insinuated that my success was only due to my family’s money, and not my talents. I’m not about to let that stand.”

Kim winced. “That was-”

“You said it. And you meant it. Don’t try to retract it now,” Vivian snapped, crossing her arms over her chest. She leaned forward, forcing Kim to take a step back to avoid being pushed over. “I’ll have you know, my money has absolutely nothing to do with my talent. My designs are good. Better than the stuff you’ve got here, anyway. And I’m going to make you acknowledge it. Understood?”

“Uh…” Kim was at a loss for words.

Before she could even come up with a response, the darkness fled from Vivian’s face, and her smirk returned. She straightened up and grinned. “Well, we can talk more about it later,” she giggled, putting her sunglasses back on. “I’ve gotta go now, Kim. See you around!”

Like a model on the catwalk she strutted out of the store, and Kim could finally breathe.

Sighing in exasperation, she returned to her position behind the counter, and wondered whether or not she was on the right track. She’d apologized to Vivian, but in the future she knew she should rush to not make snap judgments about people.

“…It doesn’t help that I’ve been in a bad mood after what happened with that bastard,” she muttered, slumping over the counter and sighing again. Today had been an incredibly stressful day. The challenge was one thing, and then the mess with Vivian…

I really should have just called in sick today, she thought, shaking her head.

While Vivian had her conversation with Kim, and Amelia was comforting Gina, the other two new girls to Nick’s harem were in their room.

The situation was rather… complicated.

Ella fidgeted on the bed, not sure what to say. The texture of the mattress was strange; it was springy, like a marshmallow, or maybe some kind of cake. She was afraid to take a bite of it though; she was afraid to eat anything here, frankly.

Not that the rumbling in her stomach agreed.

I can’t eat all this stuff! What if I get in trouble!? She thought to herself, feeling her emotions start to unsettle. Whenever she got too flustered and embarrassed and overwhelmed, she felt the signal of Cinder rearing her ugly head. While she couldn’t communicate directly with her alter, she knew the signs of her approach.

And she feared it greatly.

Meanwhile, though, her roommate wasn’t fazed in the slightest by their surroundings. She had picked up one of the gumdrop chairs, and ripped into it with both hands, devouring chunks of the sticky red gunk.

“Um… should you really be eating so much?” Ella asked warily. “Won’t you be spoiling your appetite like that?”

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin glanced up from her meal and straightened up, cocking her hip to the side and her eyebrow up as she gazed quizzically at the latina.

“R-right, you can’t talk, I forgot…” Ella sighed. She wasn’t sure if she should be happy or sad about that, honestly. She enjoyed not being pressured to make conversation, but at the same time, having the other woman standing there, looming over her…

That’s right… she’s an assassin. She’s killed people before.

Feeling an uneasiness rise up inside her, Ella snapped her rubber band against her wrist.

But so have I.

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin was still staring at Ella. The tanned girl was usually very sensitive to the emotional state of other people- it had been a vital skill to develop, when dealing with her stepfamily.

But she couldn’t get a read on the other woman at all.

Then, the assassin smirked. She stood up taller, showing off her slender physique, almost like she was preening for Ella’s approval.

“…Are… are you saying that you’ll still be skinny?” Ella guessed. “Is it, um… because of your metabolism or something? You can eat that much and not get fat?”

The assassin’s smile widened and her eyes closed. She nodded cheerfully.

Well… Ella could at least communicate with her this way… somehow.

It was still unnerving, though.

Dakota watched the girls interact with an amused expression on her face. She leaned back on her couch, enjoying how the newcomers were being integrated into the group.

“How cute, the new girls are getting along… in some cases. In others, well… that’s certainly a sight worth seeing, wouldn’t you agree?”

She turned to Nola. The leprechaun was still dressed up like a goth.

“Yes, I would absolutely agree!” Nola nodded, her face a shaky mask of a smile. “Um… I’m just wondering, will you change me back again?”

Dakota considered it, then smirked. “But I like you like this,” she replied. “I think I’ll keep you in this form for another day or two. You don’t have a problem with that… right?”

Nola sighed and shook her head. “No…” She mumbled in resignation.

While Dakota delighted in all the new girls, she turned her attention to what was really blowing up now- the chat logs.

Apparently, the audience had a lot to say on the matter. Which was expected. After all, she’d brought in four new members of Nick’s harem for exactly this reason- enticing the audience!

“DOMMY MOMM!”

“#AmeliaArrived”

“I gotta say, I like Vivian, she’s saucy”

“Vivian so fancy #FancyPants”

“Vivian might be fancy but Amelia is classy, #AmeliaClass”

“#AmeliaClass”

“Yeah so classy she’s a violent bully hitting Gina like that”

“Bruh Gina needs someone stern to watch out for her”

“Hit Gina again, a domme in the harem is so hot!”

“about time we got someone taking control”

“Amelia can control me any day #AmeliaClass #DommyMommy”

“I’d rather have Vivian tbh”

“Vivian seems way more like a masochist”

“Time to take the suffering of the common people out upon the rich”

“The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles. Freeman and ****, patrician and plebeian, lord and serf, guild-master and journeyman, in a word, oppressor and oppressed, stood in constant opposition to one another, carried on an uninterrupted, now hidden, now open fight, a fight that each time ended, either in a revolutionary reconstitution of society at large, or in the common ruin of the contending classes.”

“Nerd”

“#GetVivianPreggers”

“How are we just ignoring Mary’s elimination!? MARY!”

“Lol #ChurchOfMary in shambles”

“Rip best girl”

“She’s still in the harem tho”

“Yeah Mary didn’t lose, she won! #ChurchOfMary”

“Mary stans coping hard rn”

“I’m shocked at the challenges tbh I didn’t think Dani would do that.”

“Dani? I’m shocked by Kim’s actions! That was savage. #KimClique”

“Kim’s really been savage today, she came to fight”

“Mary withdrew because she recognized the rise of Kim.”

“Dread it. Run from it. Kim arrives all the same.”

“Rose will save us from Kim #RoseGarden”

“Are we just going to pretend like there aren’t two killers in the harem now?”

“Three killers, Vivian’s definitely got blood on her hands, filthy capitalist pig #DownWithTyranny #NoEthicalConsumptionUnderCapitalism”

“Vivian better brex herself before she wrecks herself #TakeBackControl”

“Asha is so cute! I’m in love!”

“Neopolitan! It’s a real Neopolitan!”

“Asha?”

“Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin or A.S.H.A.”

“Didn’t she reject that name?”

“Big time.”

“She’ll come around.”

“Poll on Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin’s name”

“Yes let the audience decide!”

“Augy is gonna sweep the whole thing #AssassinOutclassin”

“Cinderella adorable lol”

“Eliminate Ella immediately. She wouldn’t even be in the harem if Dakota had secured our borders.”

“What a shock the POC is a murderer, and yet ‘diversity is our strength’”

“Woke Disney made Cinderella a latinx, what a shock. #I’mNotRacist,But…”

“^Found the racists”

“Mods ban the bigots”

“I support Ella! She’s like Morgana minus the cringe!”

“But with a bigger body count.”

“Her family sucked anyway they deserved it #PreemptiveSelfDefense”

“I’m rooting for Ella to get the help she needs! #EllaGang”

“Ella is the boring one. I’m way more interested to see what Cinder can do. #CinderGang #CinderDidNothingWrong”

“What psycho would root for a psycho?! #EllaGang”

“Cinder interesting, Ella boring. Next. #CinderGang”

“#EllaGang”

“#CinderGang”

“First time I’ve seen people fighting over the same girl like this lmao”

“Amelia definitely needed to keep Cinderella in line”

“I want to see Ella get the help she needs too. If only there was a therapist in the harem. #SylviaSquad”

“Lmao Dawn is a way better therapy cat than Sylvia could ever hope to be #DawnPosse”

“#CollarForDawn”

“I’m just glad Dani and Carly both made it out okay. Here’s hoping they’ll get back together as a team again! #TeamGamerGirls”

“Anyone else wondering what Marley’s going to get up to on her date with Nick? #SlimeTime”

“Honestly the girls are more interesting than those two”

“I want to see Rose simping over Amelia and Vivian again. Who is she going to simp over more I wonder?”

“Lol #SimpRose”

“Rose is the ultimate simp”

“She’s fawning over her SMIL, #Simpmother”

“That makes it sound like Amelia is the simp lmao”

“I want to see Amelia simping for Mary. Time for Mary to show what makes a good mother #MILFMary”

“#GetAmeliaPreggers”

“#GetVivianPreggers”

“#GetRosePreggers”

“Lmao Rose would be an awful mother”

“Rose would be a great mom!”

“Don’t let Gina be a mom. All I’m saying.”

“Morgana either. I don’t think she can handle it, and I love her! #MorganaCoven”

“#GetKimPreggers”

Dakota amused herself with the conversation. She was glad to see that everyone was reacting with so much passion to all the new girls. This was just what she’d hoped for.

“Don’t worry everyone… things will get a lot more exciting from here, I promise,” she addressed the camera.