The Marked One (The Marked Series Book 1) Read Online Free Page B

because of how differently styled she looked, in the green dress and brown leather jacket with matching boots, in the depths of the summer heat.
    But, she was beautiful beyond the meaning of the word. Not the generic beauty found in magazines and on TV shows. She was unique, and she was hanging on his living room wall for the last week, in the form of a portrait.
    The Marked One .
    He was certain it was the woman from the painting. On the upper left side of her face, across her eye and about halfway down her cheek, a birthmark marked her beauty. She had bright green eyes, which looked like shimmering peridot stones, and the artist of the portrait had captured the sadness in those very eyes nearly too perfectly, as she looked exactly like the portrait in that moment.
    Her eyes locked with his for a mere second before she turned and walked in the opposite direction, disappearing in the crowd.
    The man who had upset her reached him. “Hey, you, wait,” Tristan called out. The man nearly stumbled as he turned around. “What did you just tell that woman?”
    “Listen, I don’t…you are Gerardo. I mean, Mr. Tristano Gerardo.” The man fell over his words.
    “I asked you a question,” Tristan hissed. The man looked like he was shaking with fear.
    “I can’t even remember,” the man pled with a tremble in his tone. He smoothed his words over with a half-smile.
    “Let me start again. Do you work for Gerardo or one of the companies we own in this specific building?” Tristan pointed to the structure, as the man’s destination seemed to be just that.
    “Yes, Mr. Gerardo, I’m the marketing manager at—”
    “Now what did you tell that woman? It was clear that you said something to upset her. And I don’t tolerate judgement from any of my staff, even if you are the staff of a subsidiary. Do you see you see where I’m heading with this?” He sounded cruel to his own ears, but he couldn’t care.
    “Nothing, honestly.” The man was about to start grovelling.
    “You are fired,” he said as Ivan arrived with the documents he needed Tristan to sign. Ivan looked wide-eyed at Tristan and then the man. “Good, Ivan will help you with your package and make sure we give you a recommendation worthy of what you are.”
    Ivan merely nodded. “For—”
    “You can’t just fire me for telling a woman she looks like a—”
    Tristan stepped closer to the man, who blenched backwards. “You will not finish that sentence, and you are already fired. If you can’t follow the company’s motto, you don’t deserve a position with us.” Fuming, Tristan moved back to the car. The beautiful woman’s image was stuck in his mind. He wanted to know who she was, because without a name, he already felt drawn to her.
    The man shouted a few curses, but Ivan calmly continued to speak as Tristan settled in the car. “I just made it official. You don’t work for Gerardo anymore. I sent your photo to security, so they can identify you on the facial recognition system, so you won’t have to wait. You will find the information you need at the security desk. Any questions can be done telephonically or electronically to head HR. The details will be in the document you’ll receive and you have forty-eight hours to hand in your security pass, otherwise you will be arrested. Have a lovely day.” Ivan turned away. His casualness gained him a few more curses as he walked around the car to take a seat next to Tristan. “That was fun,” he cheered, closing his door. The driver slowly worked his way into the busy lane.
    “Mhmm,” Tristan hummed in agreeance, looked out through the window, and hoped to spot the woman on the busy sidewalk, if luck was on his side.
    “Mind sharing why you fired a man on the sidewalk? I don’t see it on today’s agenda,” Ivan merrily asked, handing him the documents to sign. Tristan kept quiet, so Ivan added, “It was fun and all, but shaking up a quick summarisation, misusing the motto is an odd reason to