Sources close to Kim tell us there's no drama between her and her now former assistant, Stephanie Shepherd, after Kim decided to part ways professionally in September.

We're told Stephanie transitioned to a higher position within Kim's company a few months ago, going from executive assistant to Chief Operating Officer of Kim's brands. It became apparent very quickly to the two of them that Stephanie wasn't a good fit.

Kim and Stephanie came to a mutual decision to split professionally, but remain close friends. In fact, Stephanie was just at Kim's birthday party.

As one source puts it ... Kim's expanding her brand at a rapid pace, and she wants to have the right people on board to manage it. For instance ... she just hired a close, longtime friend who's a PR and marketing wiz to handle her brand and business operations. She's also brought on a beauty PR powerhouse.

And get this ... there are stories out there that Kim is now thinking of running for office and she's dumped her personal publicist to hire a political PR team. We're told they're absolutely not true.

As for Stephanie ... no hard feelings, but business is business.