Timeless Types

A character sketch analysing and illustrating the behaviour of one contemporary human being

Notable among timeless types is the disillusioned and unpromoted male employee who always turns up late for meetings, munching crisps and apologising insincerely for having mislaid his copy of the agenda. This character, known as the Smiling Assassin, usually sits at such meetings with a clique of like-minded but less vocal colleagues whose stifled giggles in response to his subversive comments produce an uneasy atmosphere. On rare occasions he will make some seemingly positive but utterly impractical suggestion which appeals to the rank and file but completely undermines the management. Any kindly rejection of the suggestion will be met with a sickly smile which acknowledges that ‘management always knows best’ but suggests the opposite. At the end of the meeting he is the first to leave, closely followed by his admiring entourage, eager to form a whispering huddle around him for the all-important ‘meeting after the meeting’.