Redoing My Life (Modern Family)

"So, I showed up at your house because I felt bad that I had to cancel on Phil, and then Mitchell and Cam told me they had to cancel as well…" I began, glancing at Haley as she casually sipped her drink.

"That was nice of you," Haley said.

I continued, trying to keep a straight face. "Anyway, he opens the door holding a margarita. And for some reason, he's not wearing a shirt."

Haley's brows furrowed in confusion. "Oookay…"

"And then it gets even weirder. Another guy walks out of your living room, also topless. He looks surprised to see me."

Haley sat up a little straighter, her curiosity clearly piqued. "Who?"

I leaned in. "Apparently, someone your father met at the gym. Now, this is where it gets wild. The guy looks like he's making up his mind about something, and then he apologizes to Phil—then to me—and says he just got out of a relationship and can't do anything like 'this.'"

Haley's eyes widened in disbelief. "Wait. What?"

I held up a hand, as if to prepare her. "Wait, it gets better. Now I'm confused. Phil's confused. Then the guy kisses your father—full-on—and just walks out."

Haley nearly choked on her drink, her hand shooting up to her mouth. "He kissed Dad?"

I kept a serious expression. "Haley, I don't know how to tell you this, but your father might be living a second life."

Haley glared at me, her eyes narrowing. "What are you talking about?"

"I think he might have a gay lover," I said with a straight face.

"Fuck off, Danny," 

I burst out laughing, finally breaking the act. "I had to try! But it's funny because, somehow, your father accidentally picked up a man from the gym, invited him home, had him take off his clothes, and I'm pretty sure the guy thought I was there for a threesome with them."

Haley let out a loud laugh, covering her face. "Oh my God, that is so Dad."

She took another sip of her drink, shaking her head. "I miss them. I wish I could visit, but I've been so busy. And… bored."

"Bored?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "This is your thing—fashion and all that stuff. How are you bored?"

Haley sighed, slumping a little in her chair. "Because everyone here is so rich, and I don't really fit the type."

I gave her a pointed look. "Haley, your dad is, like, the second-best realtor in Southern California. You are also rich."

"Yeah," Haley said with a huff. "But they're, like, super rich." She sighed dramatically, staring into her glass.

She set her drink down and leaned forward, her eyes lighting up. "It's good you decided to call and ask to hang out. I was losing my mind with this project—none of my group wants to do any of the work."

I chuckled. "Well, college can be like that."

Haley narrowed her eyes. "What do you know about college?"

"I mean, I've… heard it's like that," I said quickly. I'd been to college in my previous life, and most of my memories involved being drunk and partying. It was a fun but depressing time in my life.

Haley let out a sigh, shaking her head. "I could have gotten out of the project, you know, but it would mean doing some work outside of it. Like an internship or something."

"Like what?" I asked, tilting my head curiously.

Haley shrugged. "Working under a designer part-time or something. I've seen some classmates do it, but it's usually for their uncles or other relatives already in the industry."

Then I remembered the costume design team I hired. "You know, I recently hired an in-house costume design team for my company."

Haley's eyes widened. "Wait, you did?"

"Yeah," I said. "The head designer is pretty famous too. Caleb—"

"Caleb Morrison?!" Haley exclaimed, cutting me off before I could finish. "Oh my God, how did you get him?"

I smirked. "Well, you know how he recently had that scandal…"

Haley's face softened in understanding. "I feel so bad for him. No wonder he's working for you now."

"Hey, why did you say it like that?" I asked with mock indignation.

Haley rolled her eyes. "Because, before the allegations, Caleb was going to be the next big thing."

"Okay, fine," I admitted. "I hired him because he was basically blacklisted."

"Can I meet him?" Haley asked, her excitement bubbling over.

"Sure," I said, leaning back. "I'm going to meet him later this week anyway."

Haley shot up from her chair. "Let's go now."

"Now?" I asked, surprised. "We haven't even had lunch yet."

"Yes, now!" Haley insisted, grabbing her bag.

"Fine," I said, sighing as I stood up. "But we're stopping for takeout on the way."

====

I drove to where Caleb had set up his costume department HQ, nestled in a part of the city that offered easy access to suppliers and other resources essential for fashion design. The building itself was striking—modern and loft-style, with tall windows that let in natural light and sleek industrial touches like exposed brick and polished concrete floors.

Haley and I stepped out of the car and walked in. She gasped as soon as we entered, her eyes widening.

The space was very impressive. On one side of the studio, mood boards were pinned to the walls, featuring sketches, fabric swatches, and photos for inspiration. Desks were cluttered with sewing patterns, measuring tapes, and piles of design mock-ups. A few designers bustled around, jotting notes or adjusting fabric draped on mannequins.

Toward the back, a tailoring area was set up, with industrial sewing machines humming softly and racks of work-in-progress outfits. Mannequins in various stages of dress lined the walls, showcasing Caleb's meticulous attention to detail. Shelves held rows of organized fabric rolls, buttons, and embellishments, while a large communal table in the center of the room displayed current projects.

"Oh my God, this place is amazing," Haley breathed, walking farther in with wide eyes.

"Yeah, it cost as much as it looks," I replied with a half-smile.

I had met Caleb through a recommendation from a mutual friend. Truth be told, I wasn't exactly well-versed in the fashion world, but I knew we needed someone extraordinary to head the costume department—especially with pre-production for John Wick ramping up.

Under normal circumstances, Caleb might not have even considered the offer. He had been on the cusp of becoming a household name in the fashion world before a false accusation nearly destroyed him. A former colleague had accused him of stealing designs, leading to a public scandal and an industry-wide blacklisting.

Even though he was later vindicated in court and won a lawsuit proving his innocence, the damage to his reputation had already been done. Legal battles had drained most of his savings, and no one in the industry wanted to touch him.

But I took a chance on him. Caleb was talented, driven, and had something to prove. When I offered him the opportunity to lead the department, he jumped at it.

"Mr. Adler," a familiar voice called, and I turned to see Sam Valdez, Caleb's efficient right-hand woman, approaching me with a clipboard in hand.

"Ah, Sam. Where's Caleb?" I asked.

"Right here, darling!" Caleb's voice rang out. I turned to see him entering the room with his usual flair.

"Caleb," I greeted him with a smile. "How are you?"

"Fabulous, Daniel, simply fabulous," Caleb replied, gesturing animatedly. "New designs are coming to life! The concepts are just flowing. Oh, and don't get me started on the Superman suit—I have so many thoughts, so many ideas, and I just have to show you the new material samples—"

"Caleb," I interrupted with a chuckle, "we can go over all that, but first, let me introduce someone."

Caleb blinked, his eyes finally registering Haley, who was standing next to me.

"Caleb, meet Haley," I said. "She's a first-year student at the Fashion Institute—"

Before I could finish, Caleb swept past me like a whirlwind, his measuring tape now held like a scepter as he zeroed in on Haley. His sharp eyes scanned her from head to toe with the precision of a hawk sizing up its prey.

"Oh, Daniel," Caleb said with mock horror. "You didn't tell me we were taking in strays."

Haley's jaw dropped, her face flushing. "Stray?" she repeated, clearly insulted.

"Caleb," I said, trying to rein him in, but he was already circling Haley, his critique beginning.

"Let's see…" Caleb started, gesturing to her outfit. "The shirt—white, yes, but where's the edge? The embroidery is practically screaming 'basic.' And the jeans? Darling, they're high-waisted, but not high enough. And those boots? No, just no."

Haley's eyes narrowed, her initial shock giving way to indignation. "Well, at least I don't look like I fell out of a 1920s costume department," she shot back, gesturing to Caleb's tailored vest and patterned cravat.

Caleb gasped, clutching his chest dramatically as if physically wounded. "1920s?! Excuse me! This is bespoke, handmade by the finest—"

"And it looks like it came from a community theater production," Haley interrupted, crossing her arms. "You can dish it out, but can you take it?"

There was a moment of silence, and then Caleb's lips curled into an approving smirk. "Oh, she's feisty," he said, turning to me. "I like her."

I chuckled, relieved the tension had shifted. At that moment, my phone buzzed with a text. It was from Julie: "Call Dave ASAP."

"Caleb," I said, distracted by the message as I glanced at my phone.

"Hmm?" Caleb hummed, his attention now fully on Haley.

"I'll… uh, be back in a second. Need to make a call," I said.

Caleb waved me off without looking, already pulling Haley along by the arm. "Let's see how good you really are, darling. We'll start with some sketches."

"Caleb," I tried to interject, "she's not here to—"

"Oh, hush, Daniel," Caleb said dismissively. "I'll find out soon enough if she has potential."

I shook my head as Caleb whisked Haley away. With a sigh, I stepped into a quieter corner to call Dave.

He picked up immediately.

"Oh, Danny, good timing," he said as soon as he answered. "The trailer for The Avengers dropped three hours ago."

"Yeah, I saw it," I said, though I hadn't watched it yet. I'd been preoccupied meeting Haley. I wondered if there were any changes from what I'd seen before.

"They've still not announced a release date," Dave continued.

"That's not good," I replied, leaning on the wall.

We had finally decided on an April release for Batman Begins, but The Avengers was also slated for that month, causing a potential box office clash. Even Scarlett, my insider at Marvel, didn't know if they'd change their release date.

It felt like two cowboys locked in a duel.

Victor was adamant that Batman shouldn't move. His reasoning was simple: Batman was more popular than any of the characters in The Avengers, and we had the upper hand.

I'd made the rookie mistake of arguing against him at first, my memories of the MCU's eventual dominance clouding my judgment. I'd stupidly forgotten that, by now, Marvel's heroes weren't the household names they would eventually become. Batman and Superman were on an entirely different level—icons, much like Spider-Man was for Marvel.

"Victor was right," Dave said, his voice holding a smug edge. "They're afraid of going up against Batman."

"Wait, so they…?" I asked.

"Yes. I've got a report right here confirming it. They're moving to June."

I let out a breath of relief. "That's good to hear."

"Yeah, but now we need to release our own trailer soon," Dave said, urgency clear in his tone.

"How about next week?" I suggested. "A week ahead of schedule."

Dave paused for a moment, then said, "That works. Well, you're heading this with the marketing team, so this needs to blow all this Avengers talk away."

I chuckled. "I'll see you tomorrow," I said, ending the call.

I couldn't help but smile. April was ours… well, for now anyway.

'Might as well check out the trailer,' I thought as I opened YouTube and searched for The Avengers trailer.

The trailer was everything I remembered from the movie. Scenes of chaos flashed by—Loki commanding an alien army, explosions, civilians running in terror. Then came the iconic introductions: Captain America adjusting his helmet, Thor summoning lightning, Iron Man soaring into the sky, and Bruce Banner's transformation into the Hulk. Scarlett appeared as Black Widow, and Hawkeye did his usual Hawkeye things. There was also the iconic shot of the Avengers standing in a circle, back-to-back, ready to face the invasion. The score was the same as well, and I was sure now that, with the release date changing, this was going to be as big as it was before in my old life.

The comments looked positive overall, though I could see some concerns about the lack of a release date and a few mentions of Batman:

"This looks INCREDIBLE! The visuals, the music, the cast—this is gonna be the best superhero movie EVER."

"I can already tell Loki's going to steal the show. Tom Hiddleston is perfect."

"This looks great, but I'm more hyped for Batman Begins. Can't wait to see their trailer drop this month!"

"Marvel's stepping up, but DC's still got Batman. It's going to be a clash of the titans."

"Why is there still no release date? don't keep us waiting!"

"Aha no release date. Bet they're pushing it back because of Batman. No way they'd go head-to-head with that."

'Damn, that trailer needs to be good,' I thought as I walked back into the studio, weaving past mannequins and fabric swatches, looking for Haley and Caleb. I found them in the design area. Haley stood in front of a mannequin, her hands moving animatedly as she pinned fabric and sketched ideas on a notepad.

"And then we add this," she said, holding up a shimmering piece of fabric. She quickly draped it over the mannequin's shoulder. "And maybe use that fabric for the lining. It'll give it that extra pop."

Caleb and Sam were watching her, arms crossed, their expressions a mix of amusement and genuine interest. Caleb tilted his head, nodding slightly as if considering her ideas.

I walked closer, crossing my arms as I listened.

Caleb noticed me first. "Okay, fine. I'll hire her," he declared dramatically, pointing at Haley.

"Caleb, she's a student. I brought her here so she could meet you, not to hire her."

Haley, not missing a beat, spun around. "I accept!" she said quickly. "But," she added, "I can't come in all the time. I have classes, you know."

She turned to me, her eyes pleading. "If I do this, I get to work with Caleb Morrison and get out of that stupid project at college. Win-win!"

Caleb raised a hand, silencing her with his usual flair. "Darling, I'm not an idiot. I'll take you as my student. We'll make a schedule that works around your classes."

Haley's jaw dropped. "Oh my God," she whispered, her face lighting up with excitement.

I chuckled. "Well, I'm glad that worked out."

Before I could say another word, Caleb grabbed my arm. "Now that this is settled," he said, already dragging me away, "let me show you the Superman suit. I can't have you leaving without seeing my masterpiece."

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You can read up to chapter 164

p.a.t.r.eon.com/Illusiveone (check the chapter summary i have it there as well)