Illusiveone
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190: Redoing my Life, Jay the Author II
🕑 Added 2025-04-06 01:18:12 +0000 UTCBox Office Final: Iron Man 3 Closes with $1.3 Billion, Wonder Woman Stuns with $900 Million Finish
I smirked as I read the headline again.
Not bad. Not bad at all.
I leaned back in my chair, the soft leather creaking beneath me, and glanced over at Mitchell, who was lounging on the couch in my office—arms crossed, looking both relaxed and annoyed in the way only he could.
“He’s late,” Mitchell said, glancing at the clock.
“Don’t worry about it,” I said without looking up from the screen of my iPad.
Mitchell sighed. “Well, he shouldn’t be. The only reason he’s even here is because he knows you.”
I grinned. “Well, duh. I am the reason he wrote a novel in the first place.”
Jay was on his way to finalize his publishing deal today. His book—Jack Mercer, P.I.—was a 1950s noir thriller whose major plot revolved around a case very similar to the Black Dahlia case, along with some added mysteries courtesy of me. I’d fed him a few plot points early on (some lifted straight from L.A. Noire), but he’d taken them and turned them into something legitimately impressive.
Lucy loved it—loved it so much she wanted to buy the rights outright, turn it into a series, and spin it off if Jay didn’t want to keep writing. She saw long-term gold.
“Anyway,” I said, closing my laptop, “how’s Cam doing? Still riding the Beyoncé high?”
Mitchell rolled his eyes. “He’s insufferable. At first, it was fun—he got to brag around all our jealous friends. But now? Now it’s just…unbearable.”
I chuckled. “Come on. Beyoncé was beyond gracious with him. She talked to him for, what, ten minutes?”
“Yes, and he was in the tabloids,” Mitchell said flatly. “There were headlines: ‘Beyoncé’s Mysterious New Friend.’ That made everything worse, and I’m pretty sure you had a hand in that.”
I laughed out loud. “He looked so smug in those pictures.” And yes, I did have a hand in that.
Before Mitchell could respond, his phone buzzed. He glanced at the screen.
“It’s Dad,” he said, already standing.
He walked out, leaving me alone.
Jay must be downstairs, I thought as I stood, stretching slightly. Time to head to Lucy’s office.
But then my own phone buzzed.
I glanced at the screen.
Kevin Feige.
Huh.
I picked up. “Hey, Kevin.”
“Daniel,” Kevin said warmly from the other end of the line. “How are you?”
“Fine. As fine as I can be,” I replied with a half-smile. “I was actually going to call you, but looks like you beat me to it.”
Kevin chuckled. “Well, I just wanted to say congratulations. Wonder Woman—really impressive stuff.”
“Yeah,” I said with a smirk. “Well, no thanks to someone’s meddling.”
He laughed again, a little sheepishly. “Hey, things like that are out of my hands. You know how it goes.”
“I know, I know,” I said, waving it off. “Just messing with you. I do know how things are.”
I paused, then added, “Also—congratulations to you as well. Iron Man 3 opened exactly the way everyone expected. Big numbers.”
“Thanks,” Kevin said. “It was a good weekend. Looks like we might have another one in November.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Well…we have the advantage that time.”
Both Superman and Thor: The Dark World were set to face off in November.
“I wanted to call partly about that,” Kevin said. “Look—let’s keep the lines open, yeah? These date clashes…we’ve got more to gain from working around each other than stepping on toes.”
I nodded slowly, thoughtful. “I’ll think about it.”
There was a short pause.
“Well,” I said, “here’s to November.”
Kevin agreed. “Here’s to November. And to not losing our minds before then.”
We ended the call.
As soon as the call ended, Mitchell walked back in, phone still in hand.
“My dad’s here,” he said.
“Oh, good,” I replied, slipping my phone into my pocket.
Mitchell gave me a look. “Well…he’s not alone. Everyone else is here too.”
I raised an eyebrow. “That makes sense. Big day for Jay, after all.”
We left my office and made our way down the hall toward the lobby. I could already hear the familiar voices. Sure enough, there they were.
Jay stood tall in the center of it all, looking more proud than usual. Lucy was right beside him, shaking his hand and saying something. Phil was holding a coffee, Cam was mid-gesture like he was telling a story, Claire had her arms crossed but a smile on her face, and Gloria—of course—looked like a goddess.
Jay was the first to spot me. “There he is.”
Lucy turned, waving me over. The rest of them followed Jay’s line of sight and reacted as I approached.
“Daniel!” Claire called out warmly, followed by a round of greetings.
“Wow, the whole family,” I said as I walked up. “What a surprise.”
Jay clapped me on the back. “Big day for me, isn’t it?”
Gloria smiled brightly. “Ayy, my Jay is going to be a big star, like you, Daniel!”
Claire snuck up behind Jay and wrapped her arms around him in a rare public display of affection. “Yes, he is,” she said proudly.
Phil was still processing. “I still can’t believe it. Jay. A published author. I mean…wow.”
Cam, of course, couldn’t resist. “Another celebrity in the family!”
Mitchell immediately shot him a deadpan look. “Who’s the other one?”
Cam blinked. “Me, of course. Haven’t you seen the news? I’m Beyoncé’s friend now.”
Mitchell rolled his eyes and sighed audibly.
Lucy stepped in. “Alright, why don’t we head to my office? All the paperwork’s there—we’ll get everything finalized.”
“Yes, yes, let’s do it!” Jay said, rubbing his hands together.
We started walking together.
On the way, Phil nudged me. “Hey, great movie, by the way, Daniel. Really. Even Claire loved it.”
Claire nodded. “Yeah, I did. Wonder Woman really reminded me of me—strong, commanding. I saw myself in her.”
Cam, without missing a beat, quipped, “Except she was nice to the people around her.”
Claire smacked him on the arm without looking.
Everyone laughed as we turned the corner toward Lucy’s office.
=====
Inside Lucy’s office, everyone settled into chairs while I stood near the desk beside Lucy and Mitchell.
“Okay,” Mitchell said, glancing at the papers in front of him, “so this is a standard publishing agreement: an initial print run of 50,000 units, with options for expansion depending on sales performance.”
Jay raised an eyebrow. “Fifty thousand?”
Mitchell nodded. “Royalties are here, here, and here.” He pointed as Lucy slid the contract across the table to Jay.
“I read it,” Jay said, picking up the pen. “Twice. Even the small print.”
“That’s a first,” Claire muttered with a smirk.
Jay ignored her, signed on the dotted line, and leaned back.
Everyone in the room clapped.
Gloria let out a cheer and rushed to Jay, hugging him tightly and kissing his cheek. “Ay, mi amor! I’m so proud of you!”
Claire followed, hugging him. “Look at you, published author!”
Mitchell stepped in next, giving his dad a short but heartfelt hug.
Phil rushed in last, arms open—only to be intercepted by a raised hand from Jay.
“Whoa, whoa,” Jay said. “We don’t all need to hug.”
Phil looked momentarily heartbroken, but Jay chuckled and pulled him in. “I’m kidding. Come here.”
They hugged.
Jay then turned to Lucy and shook her hand.
Then he looked at me.
“Daniel,” he said, “thank you. For all of this. For the inspiration…for the help.”
I smiled. “Well, I think Gloria deserves some credit too, remember?”
Gloria straightened up proudly. “Yes, I do!” She kissed Jay again on the cheek.
As the family broke into little conversations, I spotted the manuscript sitting on Lucy’s desk. I picked it up, flipping to the character list at the front.
The section read “Main Characters.” I began to read through it—and I laughed.
Cam caught the look on my face. “What? What is it?”
I held up the page. “I always forget the fact that the main character is basically Jay.”
Cam leaned in, curious. Claire and Phil followed.
I read aloud:
“Jack Mercer. A WWII veteran turned P.I. after becoming disillusioned with the LAPD. Has a soft spot for dogs and a weakness for Cuban cigars. Thinks everyone around him is nuts but can’t help fixing their messes.”
Cam burst out laughing. “Oh, that’s so Jay.”
Claire smirked. “Yup.”
Phil added, “Literally describes him at Thanksgiving.”
Jay crossed his arms. “No, it doesn’t.”
“Of course it does,” Gloria said, kissing him again.
Mitchell shook his head, smiling, and took the page from my hand. “I need to frame this.”
He began to flip through the pages. Then he paused, brow furrowing.
“Wait a minute…” he said slowly, his eyes narrowing.
I turned to him. “What?”
He cleared his throat, then read aloud from the page, voice flat and accusatory:
“Miles Mitchelson. Jack’s long-suffering friend and attorney. Uptight, obsessed with the rules, always worried Jack is going to get them arrested or killed. Always a buzzkill. Terrified of confrontation.”
He looked up, eyes wide. “Oh my God. It’s me, isn’t it? Jack Mercer is you…and this Miles Mitchelson is me!”
Claire burst out laughing. “It does sound like you.”
Cam reached over, already grabbing the manuscript out of Mitchell’s hands. “Let me see that.”
He read:
“Cameron Beaumont. Miles’s roommate and a costume designer for the local theater. Occasionally helps Jack with disguises.”
Cam smiled, genuinely touched. “Oh, Jay, that’s so nice!”
Mitchell crossed his arms. “Keep reading.”
Cam hesitated…then continued:
“Overly dramatic. Gets emotionally involved in every case.”
He stopped. His eyes darted to Jay.
Jay blinked. “What? What’s wrong?”
Claire walked over, grabbing the page from Cam. “Let’s just see what else is in here.”
She began reading aloud, joined by Gloria and Phil peering over her shoulder:
“Clarissa ‘Clary’ Mercer. Smart, controlling, and unreasonably loyal to both her father and her very questionable boyfriend. Runs a women’s rights newsletter and constantly scolds Jack about his outdated views.”
Claire pulled back, offended. “Excuse me?”
Phil tried to stifle a laugh. “What about me?”
“Philip ‘Flip’ Dunshire. A wannabe entrepreneur and part-time real estate agent who somehow keeps accidentally stumbling into Jack’s investigations. Jack cannot stand him. Flip is overly affectionate with Clarissa and calls Jack ‘Pop’ despite being warned not to. Always showing off dumb gadgets and thinks of himself as a misunderstood genius.”
Phil gasped. “Dumb gadgets?”
Claire rolled her eyes. “Yes, Phil, they are dumb.”
“Even the Head-Scratcher™?” Phil asked earnestly.
Finally, Gloria read hers. Her eyes lit up as she began:
“Lola de la Cruz. The love of Jack’s life. A nightclub singer with a murky past, fluent in five languages, and constantly dragging Jack into trouble. Sharp-tongued, seductive, and usually right—which infuriates Jack. She’s smarter than Jack gives her credit for and often solves half the cases.”
Gloria smiled. “Jay…that was beautiful.”
Jay, trying to stay gruff, gave a little shrug. “Well, I just wrote what I knew.”
Mitchell narrowed his eyes at the page in his hand. “Really? You make Claire your daughter and me some bumbling lawyer? Seriously? Playing favorites much?”
Claire scoffed. “I am not controlling. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Phil looked personally attacked. “My inventions aren’t that bad.”
Cam chimed in, eyebrows raised dramatically. “And I am not overly dramatic.”
Mitchell shot him a look. “The whole Beyoncé thing isn’t really helping your case.”
Cam gasped. “That was a real moment! She held my hand, Mitchell.”
And just like that, it spiraled. Voices started overlapping—Claire insisting she wasn’t bossy, Phil defending his “multi-tool candle lighter,” Cam recounting the tabloid headline that called him “The Queen’s Secret BFF.”
Jay threw up his hands. “Oh, come on! I just wrote what I saw around me! It’s not a big deal!”
Lucy leaned slightly toward me, her expression a mix of confusion and amusement. “What is happening?”
I just smiled, arms crossed. “You know, I kinda missed this.”
Then something occurred to me. I straightened up and raised a hand.
“Wait—hold on,” I said, cutting through the noise. “You all said you read the manuscript already. And you’re just reacting to this now?”
Silence. A round of guilty faces all turned toward Jay.
He stared at them, slack-jawed. “Unbelievable. I sent each of you a copy—personally. Gave it to you…”
Claire fidgeted. “We…skimmed it.”
“I had a lot going on,” Mitchell muttered.
“I didn’t want spoilers!” Cam offered.
“I thought it was a draft,” Phil said, like that somehow made it better.
Jay groaned. “I cannot believe this.”
I held up a hand. “Okay, okay. Look—what Jay’s done here? It’s a labor of love. He put his most loved ones into the book. That’s you guys. I mean, come on—it’s nothing to be offended about. And if the book does great, you’ll all kind of become famous too.”
Claire sighed, looking sheepish. “You’re right.” She turned to Jay. “Sorry, Dad.”
Mitchell nodded. “Yeah, sorry, Dad.”
“I forgive you for calling me overly dramatic, Jay,” said Cam.
Jay snorted. “I didn’t call you anything. I described you.”
Phil grinned and clapped him on the back. “Still proud of you, Pop.”
“Don’t call me that,” Jay said seriously.
Lucy clapped her hands together. “Oookay! I think we’re done here. I do have another meeting in”—she glanced at the clock—“now.”
Jay was already gathering his things. “Yeah, yeah. Let’s get out of here. I’m taking everyone to lunch. My treat.”
He turned to me. “You coming?”
I smiled. “Sure. Let’s go.”
And with that, we filed out of the office.
Comments
CkLance
Yeah, this chapter was good feels all around 😂
Jarod Lane
Great chapter, smiling the entire time lol
