A piece of cake

Yvette's pov

The look I gave Detective Harris was half board, half slightly irritated.

“Are you going to sit there and stare at me or are you going to ask me something?” I asked. To be completely honest, I couldn't tell if I or he was having the worst day.

He had been staring at me like I was supposed to confess that I had started the Salem witch trials.

If I had known this could have happened, I could have played sick and, now with what had happened, I guess orange might be my favorite color soon.

I sighed and a bit hard on the gum and Harris gave me a long look that made me want to swallow the gum.

“You should be feeling remorseful, Moreno.”

“Yeah,” I said dryly. “I should probably cry a swimming pool.”

Harris's big, serious detective stare was obviously meant to look intimidating, and he raised an eyebrow, but I didn't flinch. It wasn't my fault though that I had to do what I had to do.

Gosh!

“It's hot in here.”

He gave me another hard look.

“You think this is a game Ms. Moreno?”

I leaned back in the rigid metal chair and crossed my arms, feeling as if I had been cast in a bad movie.

“I wish it was one.” I said. “Can I go home?”

“Not funny.”

I rolled my eyes.

“You know what happened already, why the interrogation, what else do you want to hear?”

He gave a deep sigh, obviously unimpressed.

Moreno, I believe this is something you should take seriously. Taking a few pictures isn't the only thing involved. People's lives are being ruined by this.

I shrugged and shook my head.

The world was cruel.

“It was just Tessa Miller's photos that I leaked, not the whole family.”

Harris tightened his jaw before leaning forward as if he were going to impart some incredible knowledge to me.

“You realize what will happen now that you leaked a top actress's photo.”

“Yeah, crucify me?”

In my mind I could almost hear him roll his eyes.

“You made money by giving the tabloids access to those pictures.” He continued, obviously tired of me. “You think that you are some kind of Robin Hood of the world of celebrities?”

I chuckled because really it was hilarious to think of me as some famous activist.

“Oh, honey, I'm not that honorable as Robin Hood.” I didn't come here to steal from the wealthy in order to help the underprivileged. I was just getting even.

Harris repeated, seemingly trying to process that. “Getting even?” With a leading actress?”

I smirked as I said.

She was just a bonus. I wouldn't risk everything for her. Tessa Miller was merely a wartime casualty. And the agency that dismissed me as the newest trends should also be arrested.

Harris had a priceless expression on his face. I could almost see his mind working to take in the information.

“No matter how a leading actress behaves, you as a star agent should understand that life outside the screen is stressful.”

“So I get slapped every time someone is stressed?”

Evidently annoyed that I wasn't following the guidelines he had learned in police school, he shook his head.

“ Moreno, what kind of message are you sending?" That ruining someone's life to exact revenge is acceptable?

“Yeah kinda. It is comparable to an expensive pastime, you know. Similar to golf or skydiving, it doesn't require any skill,” I said, tapping my chin thoughtfully.

“All you need is a strong internet connection.”

Harris squinted. “You understand that you're in a lot of trouble here, don't you?”

“Detective,” I sighed dramatically. “ I've been in trouble since I was twelve years old." It's nothing new. The real question is “What are you going to do about it?””

He inhaled deeply, as if he were clinging to what little control he still had. “I’m trying to convey to you the seriousness of this circumstance.” You have destroyed someone's career and her life too.

For the first time, I sounded serious as I said. “ Oh, I care." I genuinely do. She destroyed mine too.

A silence fell between us. Although it appeared that Harris was thinking about what I had said, all I could think about was how much I wanted to be somewhere other than this interrogation room.

However, it wasn't quite that bad. The memories that were coming back to me, the things that had brought me to this point, were the worst. For some time everything had been so perfect. How I was ecstatic when the agency's top agent pushed me off my throne as quickly as a cheap suit at a thrift store.

—

It began so nicely, didn't it? The agency had assured me of power, prestige and the opportunity to work with A-list clients. I was the good kid, the one who could do no wrong at first. I was able to think quickly, was eager to play the game and was sharp. Then, however, something happened.

First it was Leo Cavillar, who wanted me to be his ‘girl’ and harassed me twice, and just when I was trying to mind my business, Tessa Miller slapped me before everyone at the gala just because I told her that her plastic surgery made her jaw too long and her forehead elongated.

Dirty was an understatement to what had happened. Then I did it, just to feel better. I never believed I could make that money from leaking her ordinary photos then—boom, handcuffs.

—

When I noticed Harris shifting in his seat, obviously trying to regain control of the situation, I snapped back to the present.

“We’ll need to go further," Moreno, you know. Now this goes beyond a few pictures. It's serious.”

I sighed and took a moment to consider it while gazing up at the ceiling.

“You have to tell me what made you do that.”

I rolled my eyes and rolled out the gum I had been chewing from under my tongue.

“I won't talk without a lawyer.”