Bio

Vivian Harding was born to Michael and Laura Harding in the northeastern US, while they were escaping the mid-summer heat of Las Vegas. That said, Vivian grew up under the glitter and glamour of the Las Vegas Strip with little recollection of any details of her mother, except that she had a beautiful voice. Because her mother died when she was very young, Vivian grew up as a “daddy’s girl”, and was rarely denied her wishes; had she had many wishes, chances were, Michael would have indulged her. On the rare occasion she asked about her mother, Mick would quickly change the subject. Eventually, she learned not to ask questions, but found that not doing so resulted in her becoming somewhat estranged from her father. Fortunately, she had the friendship of Simon Raith, and together they avoided getting caught raising hell in the darker corners of the city.

Realizing at an early age that there was more to Las Vegas than just the mob, casinos, and tourists, Vivian decided to immerse herself in all that was, is, and ever will be Las Vegas. Through the years, she worked at the Forum Shops at Caesar’s Palace, then moved on to a job as a showgirl, and eventually an escort. During her time as an escort, she found herself more and more distanced from her father; the only family she had after Simon left the Las Vegas Valley to settle in Chicago. Michael hated that she chose to work as a “common streetwalker”, when the Hardings never had any reason to work at all. Still, her life as an escort started on the street, which provided her with an intimate knowledge of the city as well as her clientele. More importantly, she learned just what kind of hardships the girls faced when selling themselves, and quickly figured out just how important self-preservation is, even in a city she so deeply loves.

Eventually, she yielded – albeit unintentionally – to the temptations faced by House Raith, and while at a party with a number of Russian clients and a few of the girls she knew from her years of working with them, Vivian fed. Everyone she touched became consumed by lust, in turn providing her with ample sustenance. After committing mass-murder in a hotel room, Vivian turned to Nigel Raith, and met William Moore. She vowed that she would never again consume a life by feeding off of their lust, and developed her extreme level of self-discipline.

With a smile that doesn’t easily break, even under the worst of circumstances, Vivian now runs one of the hottest and most upscale clubs on the Las Vegas Strip; Surrender at Encore. Not only does she manage her club, but she also keeps a very secretive and far more exclusive business than even Surrender can hope for. From the office overseeing the club, Vivian also manages a number of escorts, both male and female, who can easily make a living after serving a mere three clients a year.

Getting a Little More Personal…

In spite of her choice to know the city inside-out by working and living by the streets, Vivian has always had a taste for finer things, likely due to her upbringing as a Harding. She may never have asked for much from her father, she did take all he gave her for granted – to a point. She was never the type to flaunt what she had; she just figured that everyone had the same sorts of things. Sure, her high school classmates didn’t have sportscars, but many had cars, and her father got her a car as well.

Fast forward to adulthood, and her position as a White Court Princess of sorts. Vivian is notorious among the White Court for having connections to just about everyone. If she doesn’t know someone first-hand, she knows someone who does (or at the very least, someone who might). It is sort of an innate network of “six degrees of separation”, but with Vivian, that rarely exceeds more than 3. Because of that network, she is an asset to the White Court, even to House Montegna, even if Johnny rarely calls upon her – likely out of pride, after all, who wants to depend on a lesser House?

Because she is a valued member of the White Court, she usually gets what she wants without really having to work for it. When Steve Wynn decided to build the Encore, even though House Raith was already set up at Wynn, Vivian approached him about an even newer place than her suite at Wynn. It is for that reason that she was pretty much able to design her penthouse suite, and subsequently the other suites on the top floor.

Beyond her move to Encore upon its completion, Vivian also convinced Wynn to let her design and manage her own club at the new hotel. Surrender was born! Although not on the original plans for the hotel (which is why some maps of the casino and grounds don’t show it), Surrender found its place just steps from Las Vegas Boulevard – though you wouldn’t know it when you are there. Surrender/Encore Beach Club is one of the few places in Las Vegas where guests can enjoy the desert sun year round, with its retractable sun roof that is in place for the winter months.

Vivian, however, isn’t one to spend her days at the Encore Beach Club, usually only making an appearance around 3pm, since Surrender officially opens for business at 4. The rest of her days, as well as her days off, are spent on the outskirts of the city. She holds season passes to Mt. Charleston (actually the Las Vegas Ski and Snowboard Resort), Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, and Lake Mead National Recreation Area. On Lake Mead, Vivian has her own 47’ Azimut FlyBridge yacht, which she keeps docked at Callville Bay, and will occasionally spend more than a few nights on her boat in the summer.

While more than enough boat for the lake (it is ocean equipped and able, but Vivian doesn’t get out to the California coast all that often), she got the boat for a steal, so she figured “why not?”. Where Vivian tends to splurge is on her vehicles. For outdoorsy activities, Vivian picked up a Range Rover Supercharged, which is big enough for any amount of accessories she might need for a trip, whether it’s skiing at Mt. Charleston, or just supplies for a day or so on the lake.

For her in-town driving, Vivian has gone all-out. She had her car imported from the UK, and drives it the way it was meant to be driven – in other words, fast. The Mercedes Benz SLS AMG was obscenely priced even before she had it imported to the US. Once here, it received the same treatment as her Range Rover; basically, either one could fare well as a military tank for their durability and bulletproofedness. One can never be too careful, even around family.

As an apology for a recent indiscretion that involved Enno dressing up as Vivian while William watched a deal be made with Asya, William felt that the best apology would come in the way of a really big gift. He told her to buy whatever it was she wanted, and he would pay for it. Pissed as she was, she seized the opportunity, somewhat. She made her way to a dealer specialized in exotic vehicles, and splurged on one of the most expensive, street-legal sport bikes. The MV Agusta F4CC took some time to arrive, since it had to be custom-tailored to the buyer and shipped from Italy. While she waited for the motorcycle to arrive, she went to a local leatherman and had matching leathers designed by her to match the bike. Not only were they custom designed, her leatherman made them to fit her. When on, they look damn good on her; almost uncomfortably tight, because wrinkles in leather really aren’t becoming.

I’ll Let You In On A Little Secret…

Vivian is usually armed, but it’s kind of a throwback to her days in the escort service. Her weapon of choice is a simple dagger, which she wears on her thigh when clad in anything long enough to cover it. In other words, in a bathing suit, no, but most of her business attire, yes. Even her evening gowns tend to conceal it.

So, why does she keep a dagger on her person? For the most part, Vivian blends in with the average person on the street – ok, not average, but she doesn’t come across as a monster like a Red Court or Black Court vampire might. Unless she is in the presence of the supernatural, or those well aware of it, Vivian tries to be as human as possible; something her high discipline allows for.

When someone threatens one of her girls or guys, if that someone is mortal (and just stupid), Vivian will threaten right back. Weapons are more for intimidation than actual use in Vivian’s hands. That’s not to say she won’t use it, if necessary, but when it comes time to pull out the dagger, chances are, she’s crossed over into monster and would rather feed without killing than risk getting dirty. Blood is so messy, you know.