After Aaron and Keeley left, Gray and Mandy had a good laugh over how obviously unsettled and confused Aaron had been throughout the dinner. Between the two of them, he was more amused because he knew what his brother was usually like but Mandy still seemed like she had fun pulling the wool over their eyes.

“Did you see his face?” Gray asked gleefully, dropping his false voice once the elevator went down. “I have never seen him so completely out of it before. Keeley was doing her best to keep him engaged but he may as well have been in outer space. I think you broke him.”

“Serves him right,” Mandy said with a twinkle in her eyes. “That’ll show him not to mess with us in the future.”

Aaron wasn’t the type to ‘mess with’ anyone. His problem was complete indifference to all but a handful of select people. Gray had admitted before that he knew his brother didn’t actually care about him but it didn’t even hurt. He was used to people not caring; it was what he had come to expect from everyone. Until Mandy came along that is.

But she had felt indignant on his behalf even though technically Aaron hadn’t done anything other than be his usual stone-cold self. He was like this to everyone outside his wife and children, not only Gray.

He was curious what she thought of his family now that she had met them. Casually leaning back on the couch, he asked her what her impressions were. A thoughtful expression crossed Mandy’s face and she took a moment to mull it over before responding.

“You were dead right about Aaron being a cold fish. Keeley seemed nice enough so I wonder how she ended up with a man like him. Even though we were totally hamming it up she didn’t even seem fazed. Either she’s a fantastic actress or she has excellent people skills.”

Gray smiled. “My money is on the latter. She’s a very straightforward person but she doesn’t always reveal her true thoughts in order to be polite. She knows when and when not to say something.”

He had noticed that fact about his sister-in-law since the day he met her in a café and she called him out on his identity, asking him point blank what he wanted from her husband. Keeley had obviously been tired of their game of cat and mouse so she quit beating around the bush immediately. Someone as crafty as Aaron could never show their hand right off the bat.

She had been the same way ever since, moving through any social situation with ease even though her eyes and body language sometimes gave away her true feelings. At least as far as he had seen. He hadn’t spent all that much time with her over the years since he was in prison.

It was interesting to see how little people could change over time. The Keeley before he went to prison and the Keeley after he got out hadn’t changed a bit aside from subtle signs of aging. She still put on a friendly face despite being wary of him and appeared to be one of the primary reasons Aaron continued their relationship. That was the impression he got anyway.

It was a bit sad, really. They felt like they had to be nice to him because he killed Lacy despite obviously not enjoying his company. He would tell them not to bother if not for the fact that he still wanted to be a part of his brother’s life.

Gray really shouldn’t have expected anything different. He had never once been genuine with either one of them.

Mandy seemed to think that the reason he hadn’t gotten close to anyone before she came along was that he never revealed his true self. She had told him multiple times that the real Michael Gray was much more likable than the fake persona he usually put on.

Was it too late to be more genuine with the only family he had left? Aaron would probably be annoyed with him for quite a while over the little prank they had pulled.

Mandy pulled her knees to her chest and rested her head on top of them. “Why do you look so deep in thought?”

He hadn’t realized he had been spacing out. She had probably been trying to get his attention for a while. Offering her a slight smile, he shrugged. “I was wondering if Aaron doesn’t like me because I’ve never been genuine with him.”

She shook her head indulgently. “Based on his reaction earlier, I’d say that’s highly likely. I can’t believe it’s taken this long for it to cross your mind. Do you really always talk to him like that?”

“…yes.”

“Ah, Mikey, you can’t expect people to open up to you when you put on a thick layer of fake charm. Especially people like Aaron. You told me that he left high society for his wife…she seems as average as can be compared to what he’s used to. He probably loves her because she gave him a taste of something real.

“If I had to guess, he probably hates insincerity the most. Pretty sure you dug your own grave there. I’m not saying that he shouldn’t have tried harder to be a good brother but try to think about it from his perspective. If a slick character working with a known enemy came out of nowhere when he already didn’t like slick characters it would make sense that he would keep them at arm’s length,” Mandy finished gently.

Gray hadn’t thought about it that way before. He had been having too much fun watching his baby brother’s exploits as he worked to overthrow their father to consider what Aaron might be feeling. He had wanted to meet him for so long…why didn’t he act more genuinely with him?

Probably because he was too deeply entrenched in his false persona back then to even realize that it would make him seem untrustworthy. His real self had been so long forgotten that the thought didn’t even cross his mind. 

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