[005] good for you

                                   In this moment, it felt like there were only two people on this court: Margo and her current opponent, Akiko Hashimoto. It was just the two of them on that court and as they locked eyes, Margo was able to see Akiko for exactly who she was. They were transported in an entirely different place, the crowd and everyone else disappearing in a matter of seconds. No matter how many matches Margo would play, she'd always come back to this feeling.

                                  This feeling of burning vulnerability.

                                  They lock eyes for a moment on the tennis court, although it feels like an eternity. And then it was Akiko's turn to serve. From the moment the game began, it felt less like tennis and more like art. Their movements were fluid and precise and Margo was definitely having her work cut out for her. After all, Akiko was younger and hungrier, and she was more eager to rip the crowd right off of Margo's head.

                                   If anything, Margo felt tempted to let her. But her body just wouldn't let her. As exhausted as Margo was, she wasn't going to let go until she actually died.

                                   Akiko was an excellent tennis player and she had worked hard to reach the top position she had today. In a lot of ways, Akiko reminded Margo of herself. But at the end of the day, it still wouldn't be enough for her. Margo would end up winning the match between them, all bright smiles as she made her way towards a frowning Akiko so they could shake hands.

                                "Good game," Margo responded, just as she had several times.

                                "Thanks," is all Akiko says with a shake of her head, the two of them briefly shaking hands before they finished.

                                 "I'm serious. You did very good," Margo insisted.

                                  "I lost," Akiko reminded her.

                                  "You almost had me. Not too many people can say that," Margo replied with a small smile.

                                  "Really?" Akiko actually falters at that.

                                  Only one person did but Margo wasn't about to bring her up.

                                  "Yeah. Keep it up and you'll go pro. And if you're lucky, you might just go against me again. I'll be looking forward to it," Margo assures her.

                                  With that, Margo walks off. With the audience cheering her on, Margo turned to look at her adoring crowd and smiled at them. She even blew kisses, a smile on her face as she walked away and towards the back. Almost instantly, Margo takes her hair out of the high ponytail it had been in and lets it swing past her shoulders.

                                 Her personal assistant, Phoebe, appeared out of thin air (or it seemed like it) and rushed towards Margo with a small white towel and Margo's water bottle. Phoebe was the first and only assistant Margo had and she seemed to be holding her own. Although she didn't look like much, she was actually the best assistant so far. But then again, she didn't have a choice since Margo could be a bitch if she didn't do her job correctly.

                                 "Hi, Margo. That was an excellent match," Phoebe began to ramble. "I could hardly take my eyes off of you."

                                 "I know," Margo says, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

                                 "I, uh, I wanted to ask if you were going to the party tonight after the match," Phoebe replied, pulling out her phone so she could take notes. "It's happening last minute but they were wondering if you were going to make an appearance."

                                 "No, I'm taking the rest of that time off to go back home. Patrick and I are doing something important," Margo shakes her head before she takes a sip from the bottle.

                                 "Important? Like... romantic?" Phoebe raises a brow.

                                 Margo knew that she had to start practicing with Patrick so they were moving in right away. "I guess you can say that. Where is Patrick by the way?"

                                 "Oh, he was talking to some people the last time I saw him," Phoebe answered.

                                 "That's Patrick for you. Always loving to talk," Margo rolled her eyes, taking another large sip from the water bottle.

                                 "And there's someone in your dressing room," Phoebe adds.

                                Margo frowns, turning to look at Phoebe. "What the fuck are you talking about? Who's in my dressing room?"

                               "She said that she was an old friend of yours and that you were expecting her. She's famous and I... I thought...," Phoebe's eyes widen, realizing now that she had probably done something wrong.

                               "If you let some sort of weird stalker into my dressing room, I'm going to make sure you never work again," Margo warned.

                                Phoebe's left shocked as Margo storms towards her dressing room, wondering who it could be. She didn't really have any friends so she didn't understand who it could be. It was probably a fan who had managed to outsmart her dimwit of an assistant and Margo was just going to have to deal with it. But when she opens the door to see who had basically broken into her dressing room, she nearly dropped her water bottle.

                                 Standing there with a small grin on her face was none other than Tashi. Her hair may have been shorter, and there was a big ring on her finger. But it was still her. It's like Margo's seeing a ghost. Or even a demon, in this case.

                                  "What the fuck are you doing here?" Margo questioned. "How did you even know I was here?"

                                 "It was all over the news and I figured I'd stop by to see you. I wanted to see if you were as good as everyone said you were," Tashi admitted.

                                  Margo scoffed. "Did you enjoy the show?"

                                  To her surprise, she nods. "You did really good out there. I'm pretty sure you used one of my moves towards the end. It looks like you followed some of my tips after all," Tashi complimented.

                                 "Are you that narcissistic to think that I copied one of your moves? I made my career by myself without your help," Margo rolled her eyes, closing the door behind her.

                                 "Your career? Or rather, the career I gave you," Tashi corrects Margo, folding her arms across her chest.

                                 "You have to be fucking kidding me," Margo scoffed.

                                 "You're a lot of things but an idiot isn't one of them. If I didn't get that injury all those years ago, where would you be?" Tashi raised a brow.

                                 Margo turns around to look at Tashi, feeling her anger beginning to rise. But it wasn't due to the fact that Tashi was lying just to get under her skin. She knew that Tashi was right. Tashi's loss had quickly become Margo's gain. If Tashi had still been able to continue her career, Margo would've been stuck at second best. She then walks straight towards Tashi, glaring at her while eliminating as much space between the two of them as possible.

                                "You have ten seconds to tell me why you're here or else I'll have security escort you out," Margo threatened.

                                "I heard a rumor that Patrick's getting back out there on the court. I was beginning to think he was settling fully into the role of trophy husband," Tashi remarked.

                               "So what if he is? I hope you're not scared. I know your trophy husband hasn't been winning a lot lately. All of that coaching of yours hasn't been working, has it?" Margo quipped.

                               As much as Margo didn't want to, she had been caught up on tennis's power couple: Art and Tashi Donaldson. While Tashi was coaching him behind the scenes, Art had won the matches and gained the deals and grown famous. They even had a little daughter together and that piece of news had felt like a real punch to the gut. It was painful enough when they had gotten together before eventually getting married. But to add a child? It took Margo a long time to recover.

                               But it wasn't all good news for the seemingly perfect couple. Art was developing a losing streak, and it was pretty obvious that Tashi wasn't thrilled by it. She loved tennis and winning more than she loved anyone, even those close to her. And with Margo knowing both Art and Tashi as well as she did, things couldn't possibly be going well between them.

                               "That's about to change. Art's luck is going to turn around," Tashi reasoned.

                               Margo raised a brow. "And why is that exactly?"

                               "Art is entering the challenger event," Tashi answered.

                               "Really interesting," Margo drawls before she walks right past Tashi, making sure to shoulder-check her first.

                               "Is Patrick going to be there?" Tashi asked next.

                               "What if he is?" Margo answers Tashi's question with another while she fixed her appearance in front of the large mirror.

                               "I know it's been a while since Patrick has played professionally. I just want the both of you to be prepared for when we beat you because... we will," Tashi shrugged.

                               "The both of us?" Margo looked at Tashi through the mirror.

                               "I know for a fact that you're going to be coaching him. No one else is going to want to touch him. He's a hazard," Tashi reasoned. Even now, she was talking about tennis instead of anything else. It was all she could think about, and Margo was unfortunately the same way.

                               "I hope you don't think your little intimidation tactic is actually going to work. I just hope you and Art are prepared to lose. And maybe it's time for you both to retire," Margo retorted.

                               Tashi laughs. "I'm glad you're still just as much of a bitch as you were back when we were younger."

                             "And you're still a psychotic bitch who turns on everyone around her, but why are we pointing out the obvious?" Margo quipped, making Tashi frown.

                            It was impossible for Margo to forgive Tashi for all of the betrayal and heartbreak she had caused. She tried to but every time she thought about it and every time she saw a picture of her and Art together with their perfect little family, it made Margo angry all over again. At this point, Margo was convinced that she'd never be able to get over it. It was just a wound that would never be able to heal.

                            Before Tashi could respond, the door opened, and Phoebe walked in. She looked absolutely nervous since Margo basically threatened her job. But realizing she had interrupted a tense conversation, Phoebe looked even more nervous than before.

                             "I'm sorry to interrupt but... you're needed to go and do a little interview, take some pictures with the trophy, things like that," Phoebe replied.

                            "I'd be happy to. Now either you can stay and watch me continue to be more successful than you could ever be, or you can leave," Margo replied, now beginning to leave the dressing room.

                            "I'll see you around," Tashi called after her.

                            Margo gives Tashi the middle finger before she leaves the room entirely and Phoebe looks between the two women before she trails after Margo in a hurry.

                            "Um, does this mean I'm fired?" Phoebe questioned.

                            Margo scoffed. "Not this time. But if you ever see that woman again, I want you to make sure that she never comes around again."

                            "Tashi Donaldson? But she's -," Phoebe began to say.

                            "A cunt who I don't want anywhere near me. Got that?" Margo cut her off.

                            Phoebe nods. "Got it."

                            Margo walks out onto the court, grabbing the trophy which had been waiting for her. She's at the forefront, taking pictures with it and posing. But as she was doing so, she saw Tashi amongst the crowd. She was walking away which should've been a relief. It was, mostly, but Margo felt so strange at the same time. She was feeling a range of emotions, all of which she had never wanted to feel again.

                            Margo forces herself to smile, pretending like she hadn't seen her. She just hoped that Patrick hadn't seen her. But she knew she'd have to tell Patrick about the interaction sooner rather than later. If it was true and Art was also going to be in the challenger event, they'd have to work even harder to win.

                            And if it meant that Margo had to destroy both Art and Tashi, that's just what she would have to do.

( 🎾👱🏻‍♂️💎 )

word count: 2149
notes: tashi is lowkey stalking margo but who cares??? i could picture akiko being played by anna sawai and phoebe being played by cailee spaeny but that's just a random fact i wanted to say out loud