Doubt on question - ETS GRE Big Book, Test 6, Section 2, p. 235

GRE Verbal Problem Solving
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This is a question from the GRE Big Book (also Q13 from ‘(GRE Big Book) Test 6 Text Completion Problems (14)’).

I’m having trouble understanding the logical contrast here. If someone is ‘feigning’ (faking/pretending) enthusiasm, isn’t it already implied that they don’t actually care? If the person is just carrying out the action without real interest (perfunctory), that seems to align perfectly with the idea of faking it, wouldn’t ‘Although’/ ‘In reality’ signal a double negative?

Can someone please clarify this? Thanks!

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If someone is ‘feigning’ (faking/pretending) enthusiasm, isn’t it already implied that they don’t actually care?

Yes, but Johnson’s employees don’t necessarily know he’s faking.

“Feigned” tells us what his behavior looked like from the outside, while “in reality” tells us what was actually true. “Although” vs. ”in reality” are reinforcing each other as contrasts of appearance vs. reality.