Former Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers partner Trae Vassallo told a jury that the male colleague whose conduct is at the center of a discrimination case against the firm showed up at her New York hotel room one night on a 2011 business trip in his bathrobe asking to come in.

It wasn’t the first time the co-worker had “hit” on her, Vassallo testified, recounting a 2009 incident at a Palo Alto, California, bar where she said then-Kleiner partner Ajit Nazre touched her with his legs under a table.

Vassallo said she didn’t tell anyone at the firm about the earlier encounter because she thought she had “shut it down” and assumed it wouldn’t happen again. When she initially complained about the second incident in New York to senior partner Ray Lane, he told her “you should be flattered,” Vassallo said in state court in San Francisco.

Vassallo was called to the witness stand by attorneys for Ellen Pao, who are seeking to show that women at Kleiner were harassed and retaliated against and the Silicon Valley firm tolerated gender discrimination.

Pao, who had an intimate affair with Nazre in 2006, sued the firm in 2012, saying she was pressured into the relationship and was passed over for promotions when she complained. Her allegations are focusing new attention on a startup culture and investing environment believed to favor men in the U.S. technology capital.

‘Wholly Justified’

Nazre was fired after Vassallo complained of sexual harassment to Kleiner’s other senior partners and an independent investigation found her claims “wholly justified,” according to Vassallo and Kleiner’s attorney.

Pao is seeking as much as $16 million in salary and bonuses she says she lost because Kleiner didn’t promote her and paid her less than male co-workers, including denying her a share in profit from the firm’s investments. She also claims she’s entitled to punitive damages because Kleiner’s conduct was malicious.

Vassallo’s testimony may bolster Pao’s claims that women were harassed and marginalized at Kleiner. She recounted feeling insulted when she was seated at the back of the room during an offsite meeting about green tech investment, in which she had played a leadership role, and was then asked by Lane to take notes for the gathering.

“A person who is taking notes can’t contribute to the conversation,” Vassallo told the jury. When she refused Lane’s request, Lane turned to Pao, who also turned him down, Vassallo said. “Ultimately some other person ended taking notes,” she said.

‘Still in Shock’

When Lane asked her what she wanted him to do about the hotel room incident with Nazre, Vassallo said she didn’t know because she was “still in shock.”

“I expected someone to come back to me with some next steps, but nothing,” Vassallo testified.

Vassallo also praised the firm, telling the outside investigator who probed her sexual harassment complaint that it was a “dream job” and “awesome place” to work. She said she was told in 2012 that she wouldn’t receive a promotion to general partner, though later that year she did receive the title. Pao’s lawsuit was filed in May 2012.

Kleiner contends Pao never complained that Nazre harassed her until she hired a lawyer five years after their consensual affair. An investigation determined that Pao’s claims were meritless, Kleiner has said.

The firm denies her treatment was related to her gender. Rather, she lacked leadership skills, didn’t like her job, clashed with co-workers and was advised to leave because she performed poorly, Kleiner said in court filings.

“She didn’t succeed because she didn’t have the necessary skills for that job, she didn’t come close,” Lynne Hermle, an attorney for Kleiner, told the jury during her opening argument Tuesday. “Despite her belief that she was outstanding in those areas, the evidence will show that’s just not true.”

First Witness

Vassallo was the first witness at the trial, which is expected to last as long as five weeks. The trial will feature testimony from Kleiner’s most senior executives, including John Doerr, Ted Schlein, Mary Meeker and Lane, as the firm seeks to show that it has long been a champion of women and Pao’s failure at Kleiner was performance-related.

Pao is now interim chief executive officer of Reddit Inc.

Nazre, who left Kleiner in 2012 and works in India, said before the trial started that Kleiner has denied Pao’s allegations about him and referred questions about the case to the firm. He isn’t a defendant in the case.

Vassallo is a strategic adviser and former general partner at Kleiner, according to the Menlo Park, California-based firm’s website.

Christina Lee, a Kleiner spokeswoman, declined to comment about Vassallo’s testimony.

The case is Pao v. Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers LLC, CGC-12-520719, California Superior Court (San Francisco).